CRST relative earns master’s degree from UC-Berkeley

BERKELEY, CA – Claudia Rose Iron Hawk (Oohenumpa, Oglala, Ihanktunwanna, and Ohowozu) received a master’s degree in linguistics with an emphasis in Indigneous Language Revitalization from the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) at graduation ceremonies held on the UCB campus on May 19, 2025. Her Lakota name is Taopi Waste Win, meaning Good Wound Woman.

Iron Hawk is the youngest child of esteemed Lakota elders Manny Iron Hawk (Titunwan Okowozu) and Renee Iron Hawk (Tituwan Oohenumpa) of Red Scaffold, SD. By pursuing higher education, Claudia Iron Hawk is carrying forward a family tradition, as both her parents have master’s degrees.

Claudia was born in Eagle Butte and was named for her grandfather Claude Iron Hawk, a World War II veteran. She gives credit to her father’s mother, Goldie Iron Hawk, for being an inspiration and “pivotal person” in her life. Unci Goldie and other elders in the Iron Hawk family spoke only Lakota and Dakota. Unci Goldie died when Claudia was eight years old.

She said, “When I walked across the stage to receive my diploma (at UCB), I felt the presence of my Unci Goldie. My dad said he felt her presence also.”

Claudia did not speak the Lakota language as a child but says she understood much of what the elders said. Claudia’s ate (father), Manny Iron Hawk, speaks the Lakota language as his first language. His fluency helped to ignite Claudia’s passion for linguistics by the time she reached her teen years.

Indigenous language activists say that teaching Native languages and other cultural treasures to young people can be a powerful preventative for self-defeating behaviors in later life, stating “Culture is the cure – culture and identity.” Also, many tribes, including the Cheyenne River Lakota tribe, receive funding from sources that require those tribes to have a separate living language to qualify for the funding.

Claudia graduated from Cheyenne Eagle Butte High School in 2018. She then attended the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM), a rural campus which offered a tuition waiver for Native American students. She said that the first year away from home off the Cheyenne River Lakota reservation was “very hard,” both for her family and for herself.

While at UMM, she volunteered at an elementary school which had an after-school American Indian education program. She said that the program usually included 10- 20 students and that volunteering with those students was a positive and valuable experience for her.

During her UMM years, the University endured the COVID crisis and moved classes on-line. In May 2022, she received her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Native American and Indigenous Studies from UMM. As a graduating senior at UMM, she received the Chancellor’s Award for academic excellence and community service.

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