EG Headshot

Erin Griffin

Assistant Professor of Dakota/Lakota/Nakota & American Indian Studies

Biography

Isnana Nazin Win de miye. Westerman wicowanzi kin hematahan k'a Sisitunwan Wahpetunwan Oyate kin hematahan. Wanna kaksiza hanska ed wati ka Dakodiapi kin 日本av视频 ed wounspewicawakiye. Hnuh Dakodiapi kin unspemiciciye ka wounspekiye ota wicabuhe. Dakota wicohan kin ka Dakodiapi kin tewahinde.

I love the Dakota language and have been working to learn the language and build programming since the 1990s. I am from the Westerman family and enrolled with the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate. Some of my most significant work for my community includes the development of the Voices of Our Ancestors program and the Dakota language teaching certificate at Sisseton Wahpeton College. The Dakota language is an important part of my daily life, and my focus is to make learning as accessible as possible for everyone interested.

Ohinni Dakota ia pi!

Education

  • B.A. in anthropology | Minnesota State University, Mankato | 2005
  • M.A. in sociocultural anthropology | University of Oklahoma | 2009
  • Ph.D. in Hawaiian and Indigenous language and culture revitalization | University of Hawaii, Hilo | 2023

Academic and Professional Experience

Academic Responsibilities
  • LAKL 101 Introductory Lakota Language I
  • LAKL 102 Introductory Lakota Language II
  • LAKL 201 Intermediate Lakota Language I
  • LAKL 202 Intermediate Lakota Language II
  • LAKL 301 Intermediate High Lakota Language I
  • LAKL 302 Intermediate High Lakota Language II
  • LAKL 420 Oceti Sakowin Language Teaching Methods

*Dakota iapi kin iwae k'a dakota iapi kin wounspewakiye. Nakun Lakoliyapi kin iwowahdake k'a lakoliyapi unge owakahnige. I am a Dakota speaker and teach all courses through the Dakota dialect. I do highlight and recognize variations in dialect as a foundation of my teaching.

Work Experience
  • 2024-present: Assistant professor, 日本av视频
  • 2023-2024: Visiting assistant professor, 日本av视频
  • 2022-2023: Senior program officer, programs, American Indian College Fund
  • 2021-2022: Program officer, Indigenous education, American Indian College Fund
  • 2020-2021: Program coordinator, TCU programs, American Indian College Fund
  • 2016-2020: Director of Dakota studies, Sisseton Wahpeton College
  • 2013-2020: Instructor, Dakota studies, Sisseton Wahpeton College

Research and Scholarly Work

Areas of Research

Tukted ka toked Dakota iapi kin unkiapi iunmaspe. Nakun toked takuku ehanna ka wanna Dakodiapi kin ka ikce wicasta kin hena yahomnipi iunmaspe. Ka nakun Dakota winyan wicohan ka toked wounspewicaunkiyapi iunmaspe.

Hekta waniyetu num wowapi mitawa owawa. Heehan Dakota Wowicohan "model" wan wakage. Wanna Dakodiapi owaunspe kin hena bdukini ka Dakota Wowicohan "model" kin woidagwaye.

I focus my research on building Dakota strengths-based domains for the use of Dakota language as a medium of communication. This includes analysis of historic and contemporary influences on the language and speakers, the strengths of Dakota womanhood, and testing new approaches in curriculum.

As a part of my dissertation research, I developed Dakota Wowicohan as a model for nurturing the Dakota language through Dakota culture. I am currently using this model to revise the scope and sequence of the Oceti Sakowin Language Program.

Awards and Honors

2022 Bush Fellow

Publications
  1. Icepansiunkiciyapi: . Dissertation. 2023.
  2. . Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, 2023.
  3. . Native Science Report, 2020.
  4. "Otokahe / The Beginning." In Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota. Gwen Westerman and Bruce White. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012. page 15.
  5. 鈥淩eclaiming Our Voices.鈥 In Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota. Gwen Westerman and Bruce White.  St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012. pages 221-222.
Mailing Address:
Lincoln Hall 229
School of American & Global Studies-Box 2212
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007
Office Location:
Lincoln Hall
Room 229