Faith Spotted Eagle to receive Honorary Doctorate at SDSU Commencement

Faith Spotted Eagle (COURTESY PHOTO)

BROOKINGS — Ihanktonwan Dakota elder Faith Spotted Eagle, one of the most respected culture carriers in the Oceti Sakowin, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from South Dakota State University during its 140th commencement May 9 at First Bank & Trust Arena. University officials said Spotted Eagle was selected for her decades of leadership in cultural revitalization, trauma healing, treaty advocacy and community empowerment — work that has influenced Native nations across the Northern Plains and beyond. She joins a small group of Indigenous leaders recognized with the university’s highest honor, awarded jointly by SDSU and the South Dakota Board of Regents.

Spotted Eagle’s life’s work spans education, language preservation, ceremony, mental health advocacy and national political visibility. A founding member of the Brave Heart Society, she helped restore ceremonies such as Isnati Awica Dowanpi and “Calling Back the Spirit,” which had been suppressed for generations. She also founded the White Buffalo Calf Women’s Society, the first Native women’s shelter in the United States, and has served as a counselor, PTSD specialist and elder adviser to tribal, regional and national organizations. In 2016, she became the first Native woman in U.S. history to receive an electoral vote for president. SDSU leaders said her honorary doctorate recognizes a lifetime of service rooted in Dakota values, healing and sovereignty.

Information provided by South Dakota State University, University Marketing and Communications, May 2026.

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