Early life and education
Lindquist was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota, and is an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Tribe. [1] [2] She is the oldest of 13 children and was raised on the Spirit Lake Reservation, partially by her grandparents, from whom she learned traditional ways. [3] [4] Her mother is Gloria Janet Jetty, who is Dakota, and her father was a Scandinavian police officer. [4] [5] Following her parents' divorce, Lindquist lived off the reservation with her father. [4]
Lindquist earned a B.A. in Indian Studies and English from the University of North Dakota (UND) in 1981. [6] She subsequently earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA) with an emphasis on Indian health systems from the University of South Dakota in 1988. [3] [6] While studying for her master's degree, she worked full-time and commuted 9 to 12 hours to Rapid City, South Dakota every two months for classes. [7] In 2006, she completed a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of North Dakota as a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow. [3] [8] Her doctoral dissertation was titled "Campus Racial Climate as Perceived by Undergraduate American Indian Students Attending the University of North Dakota." [5] Lindquist's doctoral advisor was Margaret Healy. [5]
Career
Early career
After graduating from high school, Lindquist worked as a secretary clerk for the Sioux Manufacturing Corporation in Fort Totten, North Dakota. [3] After earning her bachelor's degree, she returned to the company as a manager. [3] She was subsequently appointed as the health director and planner for the Spirit Lake Tribe, a role she held for seven years. [3] [7]
Lindquist served as the executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, a cabinet-level position, during the administration of governor Ed Schafer in the 1990s. [4] She also worked as a senior advisor to the director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) in Washington, D.C. [6] During the Clinton administration, she became the first political appointee for the IHS, serving as the Chief of Staff to the Director. [7] Additionally, she developed and wrote the Northern Plains Healthy Start initiative and is a founding member of the National Indian Women's Health Resource Center. [2] [6] In 1999, she was a recipient of the "Women in Government" award presented by Good Housekeeping . [6] In 2002, she delivered a presentation on the Native American experience at the Association of Professional Chaplains conference, which was described in Chaplaincy Today as an "excellent" personal look at indigenous spirituality. [9]
In 2003, Lindquist was recruited by two tribal elders to apply for the presidency of Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC) in Fort Totten. [3] When she assumed the presidency, the college was 18 months away from losing its accreditation. [4] Under her leadership, the institution secured a 10-year accreditation, doubled its enrollment and graduation rates, and recorded 18 years of clean financial audits. [4] [8]
In 2004, U.S. president George W. Bush appointed Lindquist to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE), where she served as chairwoman. [6] She was appointed to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's Council of Public Representatives. [6] In March 2018, the American Indian College Fund named her the 2017 Tribal College and University Honoree of the Year. [3]
Lindquist quadrupled the size of the CCCC campus during her tenure, overseeing the renovation and connection of buildings that were previously asbestos-filled federal facilities. [7] [8] She established a partnership with the University of North Dakota that secured a $900,000 grant from NASA to manufacture components for astronaut space suits at the college. [10] Lindquist concluded her presidency at CCCC at the end of August 2024. [11]
Later career
On January 21, 2025, Lindquist was named the director of Tribal Initiatives & Collaboration for the University of North Dakota. [11] In this role, she is tasked with building trusting relationships with regional Tribal Nations and Colleges and leading the development of a new university policy regarding consultation with Tribal Nations. [11]
Personal life
Lindquist carries two Dakota names. Ta'Sunka Wicahpi Win (Star Horse Woman) was given to her by a Canadian medicine man in recognition of her national work with traditional medicine and the Indian Health Service. [8] Her second name, Hoton Ho Waste Winyan (Good Voice or Good Talk Woman), was the name of her great-grandmother. [8] She embraces both her Dakota and Scandinavian heritage, preparing traditional foods from both cultures. [4] As of 2018, she had three children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. [7]
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