Billy Mills to speak at Lakota Nation Education Conference

RAPID CITY – Olympic Champion Billy Mills will be the Keynote speaker at the Lakota Nation Education Conference. The conference held at Ramkota Inn in Rapid City kicks off Dec. 13 and runs through Dec. 17.

“This year we are excited to have Olympic Champion Billy Mills as our Keynote Speaker at the Thursday General Session. Billy Mills will talk about ‘Following Your Dreams’” states Billy Jo Gibbons on the LNEC website. Mills will be speaking at 9:30 a.m.

New to this year’s conference will be the Sand Creek Art Fair. The event will be held Saturday December 17, 2022.

“You are invited to come and enjoy a day of Art and Art Education. Artists booths and sales, Entertainment: Musicians, Poetry Readings, Authors Readings, Plays, Art Exhibitions, Artists Presentations, Artist’s Make and takes.”

Artists from all Genre will be showcasing their art and in some cases doing demonstrations of their talents. Jewelry, crafts items, blankets and quilts, gift items, wall hangings, paintings, artwork, music, drama, the list is long of the artists who have been invited to attend this event. If you are interested in doing a 1.5 hour presentation or having a booth at this event please contact: Terrie Jo Gibbons at 605-407-0667 or Christopher Bordeaux at 605-441-2738 or register for a booth on LNEC website. Please plan to attend and finish your holiday shopping.

An impressive lineup of speakers is scheduled for the LNEC offering quality educational training to Teachers, Parents, Paraprofessionals, Administration, School Boards, and all staff that serve Native American students.

The conference staff feel strongly that the needs of the “whole child” must be met. In an attempt to assist with this, LNEC will offer Trauma training. In addition, LNEC will be offering a variety of sessions dealing with all needs of the child.

The conference begins with a Pre-conference with two parts A and B. Part A is School Funding and Finance with experts from Washington DC and the State of South Dakota. Part B is School Choice and Options. Presenters will address the interest in different school options available.

Bus Driver Training is back! LNEC works with Western Dakota Tech to offer this CDL and safety training. Participants will receive training and the written test for achieving a CDL. Plans will be made with the participant to complete the driving test in the required 14 day waiting period. This training is held on the West end of the Ramkota Convention Center.

LNEC also offers specific training for School Boards and Administration. Also training in Federal and State Programs, and this year we include Secretarial training to our list.

Every effort is made to research and address the current needs of all parents and school staff. The coordinators of this conference, with over 50 years of combined experience, welcome advice and input as to the best topics to address each year.

Unfortunately, the pandemic is still with us. As part of the efforts to keep everyone safe, the LNEC are encouraging all participants to wear masks at the conference and practice so­cial distancing when possible.

Masks will be provided by the Great Plains Tribal Chair­man’s Health Board.

William “Billy” Mills

William “Billy” Mills, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, was born in Pine Ridge and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Orphaned at age 12, he took up running and set records in numerous track events during high school at the Haskell Institute in Law­rence, Kan., a former residential boarding school for Native American children now known as Haskell Indian Nations University. He earned a track scholarship to the University of Kansas, where he excelled in cross country. He became a three-time NCAA All-American Cross-country recipient and won the individual title at the Big Eight cross-country championship in 1960. After graduating, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1962 to 1965. Mills was largely unknown in the running world when he qualified for the 1964 Summer Olympics. His competition included Ron Clarke of Australia, who was the world record holder at the time. At those games, Mills became the first, and remains the only, gold medalist from the U.S. in the 10,000-meter run. His winning time of 28:24.4 was almost 50 seconds faster than he had run before and set a new Olympic record for the event. Mills later set U.S. records for the 120,000-meter run and the three-mile run. He and fellow American Gerry Lindgren both broke the six-mile run world record in 1965, when they finished in a tie at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Championships. He is an author, public speaker, and co-founder of the non-profit Running Strong for American Indian Youth.

The post Billy Mills to speak at Lakota Nation Education Conference first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

Visit Original Source