D5610 Group Study Exchange
Oceti Sakowin/Wiradjuri
Oceti Sakowin/Wiradjuri
Rotary News Release April 11, 2024
Four exchange members and two alternates were selected in early April to participate in the Oceti Sakowin/Wiradjuri Group Study Exchange. This team will be lead by Kibbe Brown of Rapid City Rushmore Rotary. Selectees were:
- Chance Weston Oglala Lakota Tribal member from Porcupine.
- Nicholas Dion is a Yankton Sioux Tribal member from Wagner.
- Dawn Marie Johnson is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of Lake Traverse.
- Tianna Yellow Hair is Lakota and Northern Cheyenne.
- Alternates for the Exchange are Corey Stover of Pine Ridge and Emma LaPlante of Rapid City.
Find out more about these candidates and the Study Exchange Group.
Rotary District 5610 Group Study Exchange committee received 16 well-qualified applicants for the Australian Indigenous Group Study Exchange trip this fall. The selection
committee, comprised of Rotary members from across the state, made the final selections of four exchange members and two alternates in early April after extensive interviews.
committee, comprised of Rotary members from across the state, made the final selections of four exchange members and two alternates in early April after extensive interviews.
Selectees were:
Chance Weston Oglala Lakota Tribal member from Porcupine. His interests lie in Cultural Preservation, Business, Tribal Government, and Land Care/Environment. He works for Thunder Valley Community Development near Porcupine.
Nicholas Dion is a Yankton Sioux Tribal member from Wagner. Cultural preservation, business, justice, and land care/environment are his main interests. He is a National Guardsman and owns Boom’s Family Restaurant in Wagner.
Dawn Marie Johnson is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of Lake Traverse. Her interests lie in Cultural Preservation, Government, and Education. Johnson owns her Independent Consulting firm and serves on the Sioux Falls school board, where she lives.
Tianna Yellow Hair is Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. She has interests in Cultural Preservation, Business, and Art. She owns a Reservation Tour business and lives in Allen.
Alternates for the Exchange are Corey Stover of Pine Ridge and Emma LaPlante of Rapid City. The team will be lead by Kibbe Brown, of Rapid City Rushmore Rotary.
Applications were of the highest caliber received for the Exchange Project, which is constructed to foster the exchange of information about Indigenous management in a variety of focus areas. Efforts will be made by the team members to gain information about best practices and things that require greater attention and then share the information with programs back home.
Indigenous Wiradjuri team members visited South Dakota tribes last year and took home a wealth of knowledge about Native Program management. It will be a goal to carry on communication and knowledge exchange after the return home. This program is a restart of the program after COVID.
The exchanges were both funded by Rotary District grants from Australia in New South Wales and United States, mainly South Dakota clubs of District 5610.