USD School of Education, Native Student Services Honor Legacy of Native Education at 2025 IdeaFest Panel
The event was opened by John Little, Ph.D., director of Native recruitment and alumni engagement, and Jackie Wilber, Ed.D. '07, director of the School of Education Center for Student & Professional Services. Little acknowledged the roots of the panel discussion, which began in conversations over the years with Maurice Twiss at the Lakota Education Conference in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Special thanks were extended to the many sponsors who made the event possible: USD IdeaFest, Tiospaye Student Council, USD Alumni Association & Foundation, Office of the President, Office of Academic Affairs and USD Libraries, Archives & Special Collections.
A Legacy Revisited: The Indian Counselors Program
Launched in the early 1970s under the direction of Tom Golden, Ph.D., and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Indian Counselors Program was established to prepare Native educators to become school counselors within their own tribal communities. According to Little, the program made an immediate impact: prior to 1971, only 47 undergraduate and 10 graduate Native students had earned degrees from USD. Between 1971 and 1979, the Indian Counselors Program and its Center Satellite Program helped produce 152 master’s and doctoral graduates. In total, the USD School of Education has awarded at least 331 graduate degrees to Native students over the last century.
Future Leaders Step Forward
The event was moderated by two members of USD’s Wiyuskinyan Unpi Tipi Living Learning Community, who are also students in the School of Education.
- Taylor Byerley (Oglala Lakota): A second-year kinesiology and sport management student and track & field athlete from Martin, South Dakota.
- Bailey Langford-Buum (Tlingit): A first-year elementary education student from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she was a student in USD’s Teacher Pathway program.
Distinguished Panelists Share Their Stories
Panelists included notable alumni whose careers have shaped Native education across the country.
- Lowell Amiotte, M.A. '71, (Oglala Lakota): A trailblazer in Native education, Amiotte has led Indian Studies programs, co-founded the Oak Lake Tribal Writers Retreat and served in key leadership roles at Oglala Lakota College and South Dakota State University.
- John Derby, Ph.D., M.A. '71, BSED '64, (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate): With a 45-year career in education on seven reservations and service in the U.S. Department of Education, Derby brought a counselor’s perspective to the discussion.
- Robert A. Ryan, Ed.D. ' 73, M.A. '71, (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe): A USD doctoral graduate in counseling psychology, Ryan now teaches Native American psychology in Oregon and continues to serve Native communities in health and justice systems.
- Maurice Twiss, M.A. '72, (Oglala Sioux Tribe): With nearly six decades of service in education and founder of the Lakota Nation Education Conference, Twiss highlighted the foundational vision behind the Indian Counselors program.
The event concluded with an audience Q&A session and parting advice from the panelists to current students: honor your culture, seek community and never forget the power of education to transform lives.
This event served not only as a celebration of the past, but also a call to continue supporting Native students in higher education.
“We are thankful that current students could connect with such profound Native alumni, who overcame many barriers for them to be here and hear about their journeys and hopes for the future,” said Little.
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