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OUR TEAM
Sacheen Whitetail Cross
Húŋkpapȟa and Oglála-Lakȟóta| Executive Director | Since 2025
Sacheen is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Sacheen was born and raised on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and has worked in many different capacities within language revitalization work. Sacheen holds a M.S. in Educational Leadership, B.A. in Indian Studies, and B.S. in Public Administration from the University of North Dakota.
As a second language learner she as experienced firsthand the challenges of learning Lakota and navigating resources. This lived experience helps to inform her work with the Lakota Language Consortium.
Tipiziwin Tolman
Sihásapa-Lakȟóta, Húŋkpapȟa-Lakȟóta, Wičhíyena and Thizáptaŋna-Dakȟóta | Board Chair | Since 2022
Tipiziwin is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Currently she is a Doctoral Student at Washington State University’s College of Education’s Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education PhD program and is finishing her Masters of Indigenous Language Revitalization at the University of Victoria. Dedicating her life to addressing language and healthcare disparities she also serves as a research assistant supporting Nez Perce community language revitalization and on the National Academies of Medicine’s Culture of Health Program Advisory Committee. Tipiziwin is the co-owner of “Haípažaža Pȟežúta” making hot process soaps & bath & body products using good medicines from plant relatives Within her lived experience as an Indigenous scholar, Tribal Language Revitalization & Lakota Language Advocate and former Lakota Language immersion instructor, she is a living witness that Tribal Language & Education rooted in Indigenous Pedagogy, are the key and leading social determinants of health for tribal members and tribal communities across the United States.
Ben Black Bear
Rosebud Sioux Tribe | Board Member | 2003-2024, 2025 – present
Ben Black Bear Jr. is a Lakota Language scholar, deacon, and a member of the Sičháŋǧu-Lakȟóta tribe of Rosebud, Sd. He has been a lifelong Catholic and has dedicated his life to teaching and preserving the Lakota Language. Ben was the first chair of the Lakota language and culture department at Sinte Gleška University, during that time, he implemented the orthography used in the New Lakota Dictionary (NLD) today. Ben has been instrumental in the development of educational resources for the Lakota language and has been a strong advocate for the preservation of Lakota culture and language. For over 20 years he has been the primary native consultant for the New Lakota Dictionary, and together with LLC’s linguists, Jan Ullrich, he co-authored the Lakota Grammar Handbook, currently the largest grammar for the language. His work continues to inspire and educate future generations.
Bernadine LaClaire-Little Thunder
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe | Board Member | Since 2024
Bernadine, a first language Lakota speaker, recorded the female-voice Lakota speech for many different Lakota language projects. Her talent as a voice actor breathed life into a girl character in a Lakota cartoon series. She is a grandmother and dedicated language activist. She is currently working for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as the director for the family homeless shelter. She puts emphasis on alcohol and drug free environment and incorporation of the Lakota language, culture and traditions. Her mission is to be a good relative to her people and provide a safe and healthy places for our sacred children.
Iris Eagle Chasing
Cheyenne River | Board Member | Since 2011
Iris Eagle Chasing is a Lakota language teacher at Takini School in Howes, SD, on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. A grandmother and dedicated language activist, she has recorded female-voice Lakota speech for the New Lakota Dictionary application and assisted in a large number of Lakota language projects, such as the Lakota Grammar Handbook, Lakota Audio Series and the Lakȟól’iya Wóglaka Po textbook series.
Ȟmuŋyáŋ Máni “Walks with A Roaring” Richard Two Dogs
Oglála Lakȟóta | Board Member | Since 2019
Richard is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and serves as adjunct faculty for the Oglala Lakota College. He has served on the Board of Directors of KILI Radio and for the former Wakȟáŋyeža Pȟawíčhayapi, Inc. (“The Children First”), a nonprofit culturally-based children’s and family mental health organization. He performs volunteer service on the Board of Directors of the Thiyóšpaye Šakówiŋ Education and Healing Center, Knife Chief Buffalo Nation Organization and also with Tȟašúŋke Wakȟáŋ Okȟólakičhiye (Medicine Horse Society). For more than three decades he has provided Lakota cultural services to many tribal nations in the United States and Canada. He has extensive experience in development and training in the areas of Lakota mental health and wellness, Lakota language revitalization, cultural competency, child and family development and individual/family healing. He is the author of the first monolingual Lakota language book, titled Remembering My Ancestors. For the past decade, he has been one of the primary native speaking consultants for the New Lakota Dictionary.
Dr. Ambrose “Joe” Luger, MD
Húŋkpapȟa Lakhota & Dakȟóta | Board Member | Since 2025
Dr. Luger grew up in Fort Yates, ND received his higher education from the University of North Dakota and the University of Colorado. Dr. Luger has worked as an IHS consultant in various service units for 20 years. Dr. Luger works diligently to learn more language, with a wish that all of us will eventually be fluent speakers.
Travis Condon
Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna and Mnikȟówožu | Board Member | Since 2009
Travis Condon, PharmD, joined the LLC board in 2009. He is Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna-Dakȟóta and Mnikȟówožu-Lakȟóta and has studied Lakota for many years. He speaks Lakota to his clients at the Standing Rock Health Center and to his three young children. His youngest son’s first spoken word was in Lakȟóta. Travis helped to document the language by interviewing elders and assisted in organizing educational projects.
Joe Bendickson (Šišóka Dúta)
Dakhóta-Iápi-Okhódakičhiye | Board Member | Since 2010
Šišóka Dúta is an enrolled member of the Lake Traverse Reservation. He is a Dakȟóta language instructor at University of Minnesota (UMN) and is currently the board chair of Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye (DIO), a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to revitalizing the D dialect. He has spent the last 23 years learning the Santee dialect of Dakhóta language and has grown up hearing the words and phrases from his grandparents and those around him. His curiosity as a teenager lead to his passion in Dakota language that encouraged him to enroll in Dakota language classes at the UMN. His early curiosity has inspired a strong relation to UMN encouraging students who sat where he once was as a learner. His job allows him to increase his knowledge and fluency through daily use of the language in classes. Šišóka is the editor of the largest Dakota dictionary.
Past Board Members:
Leonard Little Finger – Pine Ridge Sioux Tribe (2003-2012)
Richard Broken Nose – Pine Ridge Sioux Tribe (2003-2012)
Johnson Holy Rock – Pine Ridge Sioux Tribe (2003-2012)
David Rood – Linguist (2004-2009)
Wilson (Buzzi) Two Lance – Pine Ridge Sioux Tribe (2005-2010)
Yvonne Russo – Rosebud Sioux Tribe (2018-2022)
Kevin Locke – Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (2006-2017, 2020-2022)
Alex FireThunder (2023 – 2024)
Wilhem Meya – (2004 – 2024)