Dawn Frank | |
|---|---|
Ta Oyate Wiyankapi Win | |
| President of Oglala Lakota College | |
| Assumed office July 18, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Short Bull |
| Personal details | |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | Oglala Lakota College South Dakota State University |
Dawn Tobacco Frank(Lakota :Ta Oyate Wiyankapi Win) is an American biologist and academic administrator. She is president of the Oglala Lakota College. [1] [2]
Frank was born to Sylvia Tobacco and Darrell Two Crow. Her Lakota name,Ta Oyate Wiyankapi Win translates to Her People See Her. [3] Frank's maternal grandparents were Stephen “Psin”Tobacco and Caroline Catches Tobacco. [3] Her paternal grandparents were Justin “Judson”Two Crow and Anna “Annie”Chief Eagle-Two Crow. [3] She is a member of the Oglala Sioux and was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. [3] [1]
Frank completed elementary and secondary education at Red Cloud Indian School,graduating in 1989. [4] [3] While working and raising her kids,she graduated from Oglala Lakota College (OLC) with an associate's and bachelor's degree (2001) in human services. [4] [3] At OLC,she began a master's degree in Lakota leadership before being accepted into a W. K. Kellogg Foundation funded "Prairie Ph.D." program at South Dakota State University (SDSU) where she earned a Ph.D. in biological sciences from South Dakota State University in 2010. [4] Her dissertation was titled,Integrating Lakota culture and biological science into a holistic research methodology (Lakol wico un na wico han wopasi). [4] She later earned a master's degree in Lakota leadership from OLC. [4] [3]
From 2005 to 2013,Frank was head of the OLC graduate studies department. [3] She served as the OLC vice president of instruction from 2013 to 2022. She became the OLC president on July 18,2022,succeeding Thomas Short Bull. [3]
Frank is married to Albert Frank and has five children. [3] [4] She lives on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. [3]