Wiyaka His Horse Is Thunder became the American Indian success advisor at the American Indian Student Center at South Dakota State University in November 2021, and she is “excited to be back on campus and be part of the college experience and this dream for each student." An SDSU graduate herself, she wants students to know "my door is always open."
Wokini Challenge Grant Request for Proposals FY2023
The Wokini Initiative at South Dakota State University seeks proposals for innovative research and/or practices that will enhance American Indian student recruitment and/or retention on campus, promote leadership development for American Indian students, and/or develop collaborations with tribal community members. All SDSU employees are eligible to apply for these highly competitive challenge grants.
Grant proposals are due March 14, 2022 by 11:59 PM CT. Refer to the RFP, which is available on InfoReady, for the application guidelines and timeline: https://sdstate.infoready4.com/.
Please contact Nicole Biever, Wokini assessment and grants specialist, with any questions via email nicole.biever@sdstate.edu or phone (605) 688-4690.
"A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakota family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most.
Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors."
--Milkweed Editions
Dakota Word of the Month
waniyetu | winter
Lakota Word of the Month
waníyetu | winter
The Impact of Data Sovereignty on American Indian Self-Determination: Bridging Federal Indian Law, Data Sovereignty and the Challenges of Developing Community AI Principles
Online Lecture Series February 6 - 8 at 6:00 PM
Please join us February 6-8 via zoom for a three part lecture series presented by Dr. Joseph Robertson. Dr. Robertson is an SDSU alumnus, Wokini Scholar, enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, and founder/Chief Data Scientist of Mato Ohitika Analytics LLC. This online event is part of the Wokini Initiative’s FY 2021 Challenge Grant Project: Preserving the Past, Protecting the Future: A Collaborative Approach to Data Sovereignty, Dr. Nicole Lounsbery, PI.
This first lecture explores tribal sovereignty in the context of Federal Indian Law with a discussion of the concepts of land acknowledgement and land grant university status.
The second lecture focuses on Dr. Robertson’s Data Sovereignty Initiative and the current landscape in understanding the key role data sovereignty has in developing shared governance strategies, data driven decision-making, and exploring the ethics of bridging science and culture through the use of applied data science techniques.
The third evening features an introduction to the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the ethical implications of designing AI systems in Indigenous communities. Part one will discuss how to develop community AI principles, followed by a demonstration of natural language processing using cosine similarity with the Dakota Language. Finally, part three will demonstrate how to train an algorithm using Word2Vec with R programming language and discuss the output. A packet will accompany the workshop for virtual participants to follow along and run the code themselves.
Lectures 1 and 2 will begin at 6:00 PM and last approximately one hour. The third presentation will begin at 6:00 PM and last approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Please note: 2 CETL points will be offered for each session.
AISES Meetings: Every Tuesday, 7:00 PM, AISC Lounge
AISA Meetings: Every Tuesday, 5:00 PM, AISC Lounge
Wahanpi Wednesday: Every other Wednesday Starting January 19, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM, AISC
Wokini Scholars Meetings, 7:00 PM, AISC Classroom
January 18
February 22
March 22
April 19
Philosophy of the Lakota Bow & Arrow with Joseph Marshall, 5:00 - 7:00 PM, AISC Classroom
January 26 - 27
February 23 - 24
March 30 - 31
April 20 - 21
Jerry Fogg Exhibition Native Soul Art: 11 Degrees of Tatanka, November 24, 2021 - April 14, 2022, South Dakota Art Museum
Human Trafficking Presentation, January 31, 6:00 PM, AISC Classroom
South Dakota as Art Free Workshop, February 3 & 10, 5:00 - 7:00 PM, AISC Classroom
Impact of Data Sovereignty on American Indian Self-Determination: Bridging Federal Indian Law, Data Sovereignty and the Challenges of Developing Community AI Principles with Dr. Joseph Robertson, February 6 - 8, Online
AISES Regional Conference, March 18 - 20, AISC
Wacipi, April 9 - 10, 2022, Frost Arena
Wokini Initiative, South Dakota State University, Morrill Hall 119, Brookings, SD 57007, 605-688-4030
