Rosebud Sioux Tribal Veterans Cemetery

In 2012, Wilbert Cemetery Construction completed the installation of 600 double depth lawn crypts and 32 columbarium niches.

The new Native American Veterans Cemetery is placed on an 80 acre site on the Rosebud Sioux tribe reservation in South Dakota. The building and site plan are designed to respond to the culture and tradition of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Veterans the cemetery will serve by incorporating the circle, medicine wheel and Tipi form. The circle is indicative of life itself and the medicine wheel, a circle divided into 4 “symbols”, one of which represents the four seasons and the cycles of life (birth, life, death and afterlife).

The Administration building provides a reception center and records archive for visitors; and offices, workspaces and administrative support area to provide direct and indirect services to veterans, their families, and other cemetery visitors. Also located on the site is the Committal Shelter. The Committal Shelter is a quiet, dignified pavilion designed as a contemporary interpretation of a tipi, set in the rolling terrain and native prairie grasses. It provides a temporary shelter from the elements for an internment service to honor and respect the individual.

Rosebud tribal members who are military veterans and have completed a required amount of active duty will be eligible for burial in the cemetery. There are more than 4,000 U.S. military veterans enrolled in the Rosebud Sioux tribe.

The $7 million cemetery was officially opened on Memorial Day 2013.