The dinner, hosted by the Tiospaye Student Council and Native Student Services, is celebrated as part of the 50th annual Wacipi weekend and is free and open to the public. This year’s theme is “Celebrating 50 Years of Tiospaye” and the event will honor several of the original Tiospaye board members.

“For the 12th annual Native Alumni Dinner, we are honoring individuals who planned the start of USD’s annual Wacipi,” said Kylie Parisien (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), a sophomore majoring in marketing and co-president of Tiospaye. “These honorees have played a significant role in paving pathways for the future Native students who came to USD.”

The alumni who will be honored include the following.

Ardis LeBeau Warcloud ‘60

Faith Spotted Eagle ’73, ‘74

Spotted Eagle is a fluent speaker of the Dakota language and a member of the Ihanktonwan. Spotted Eagle earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from USD in 1973 and her master’s in guidance and counseling in 1974. Throughout her long career, Spotted Eagle has served as a high school counselor, teacher and principal; manager of human services programs and youth programs; Indian Child Welfare Act worker; organizational development consultant; teacher in a psychiatric setting; peacemaker/mediator; and community activist. She has also been a delegate of the Treaty Committee NGO at the United Nations and helped create an important cultural survey of Ihanktonwan lands along the Missouri River. Spotted Eagle received the first presidential electoral vote ever cast for a Native American in U.S. history. She has two children – Kip and Brook – and three grandchildren – River Marie, Tokana Ikpanajin, and Mia Rae – and credits all of her lifelong work to the strong Dakota culture she was raised in.

Shirley Bad Wound (Big Eagle) ’75, ‘76

Bad Wound received her B.S. in social work in 1975 and a M.A. in counseling, guidance and personnel services in 1976 from USD as well as a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver in 1986. Bad Wound has always worked with and for her people, the Lakota. Throughout her career she held positions in higher education student services, domestic violence advocacy, guidance counseling, health systems management, social work, grant review and human resources across South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota. She has served as adjunct faculty for Oglala Lakota College and at Sinte Gleska University. Since 2000, Shirley has been the Indian Child Welfare Act specialist for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, helping countless families and advocating for the preservation of Native families and their wellness. Bad Wound is a proud ina of Damon, Leon, LouDan, Tisha, Lila, and Paula Leader Charge, grandmother of Grace, Louis, Morgan, Isaac, Damon Jr. and Allyson, and great-grandmother of Cante R. Wright.

Thomas Shortbull ’70, ‘73

Shortbull received his bachelor’s degree from USD in 1970 and a master’s in public administration in 1973. He taught at Flandreau Indian High School from 1971-1972 and served as the director of the task force on Indian-State Government Relations from 1973-1975. From 1975-1979, Shortbull served as president of Pine Ridge Tribal College, which later became Oglala Lakota College (OLC). From 1979-1995, Shortbull served as the Rapid City Indian Service Council Executive director. During that time, he was also the Johnson O’Malley director in 1980-1981 and an OLC adjunct faculty member from 1982-1995. He returned for a second time to be OLC president in 1995 until his retirement in 2022. Shortbull served as a state senator from 1983-1988, and in 2017, he was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.

Sandra “Sandy” Frazier ’67, ‘72

Frazier grew up on the Cheyenne River Reservation, where she lived in a small community with her family and spent time with grandparents who were ranchers. Frazier graduated high school at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte School and went on to earn her B.A. in history education in 1967 and her M.A. in educational psychology and guidance from 1972, both from USD. She also earned her Ed.S. from the University of Montana. She was a professional counselor, served on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s tribal council, and worked for the tribe in several capacities. After retirement, she helped reestablish the Isnati Ca Lowanpi ceremony on Cheyenne River. Frazier is a mother of three, grandmother of four, and great-grandmother of five. Her oldest daughter and one great-granddaughter are in the Spirit World.

Diane Zephier ’73, ‘74 

Zephier, a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from USD. In 1982, she earned her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin School of Law, becoming the first Oglala Lakota woman to receive a law degree from the school. Upon receiving her master’s degree in educational psychology and guidance, she was appointed as a counselor for minority students. Zephier also worked at the Flandreau Indian School as a diagnostician for learning disabled students. Recently, Zephier retired from the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Hearings & Appeals, where she served as a judge. During her legal career, Zephier worked in private practice, legal aid, and federal and tribal governments.

Debbie Ross ‘75

Ross is an enrolled tribal member of the Otoe Missouria tribe of Oklahoma on her mother's side and has four children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Ross graduated from USD in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She began her federal government career in 1979 as a clerk typist with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and later as a clerk typist with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Ross's other employment included working as a social service representative with the U.S. Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs-Social Services Program, an equal opportunity specialist with the U.S. Department of Labor/Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, a federal investigator with the EEOC, an equal employment opportunity (EEO) manager with the U.S. Department of Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs-EEO Program, and she was reassigned to the Bureau of Indian Affairs-EEO Program in Washington, D.C., eventually retiring in 2016. Since retiring, Ross has enjoyed time with family and does some traveling.

Contact Brooke Jackson, coordinator of Native Student Services at Brooke.Jackson@usd.edu to RSVP for the event.

Follow the event and get more details on the USD Native Student Services Facebook page.

The event is sponsored by Tiospaye Student Council, Native Student Services and First Bank & Trust.

Press Contact
Hanna DeLange
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