Sinte Gleska University welcomes Sam Deloria as 38th Annual Commencement Speaker

By Sammie Bordeaux
Sinte Gleska University’s 38th Annual Commencement ceremony is being held Friday, August 27, 2010, at the SGU Multipurpose Building east of Mission, South Dakota. Ninety-four graduates will receive diplomas in Lakota studies, business, education, human services, nursing and vocational education. This year’s guest speaker is Philip “Sam” Deloria, director of the American Indian Graduate Center. Vivian Arviso, former Director of Tribal Education from Navajo Nation and former Miss Indian America, will also serve as a speaker at the SGU Commencement this year.
Deloria, a graduate of Yale University School of Law, worked for 35 years as the Director of the American Indian Law Center, Inc. at the University of New Mexico, where his work on the analysis of Federal Indian Policy helped define the role of tribal governments in the federal system. Now serving as Director of the American Indian Graduate Center, Deloria is positioned to help American Indian college graduates attain graduate degrees in an economic era of shrinking scholarship and fellowship assistance.
 “We’re happy to welcome Sam to speak to our graduates because the message he gives to students is that they are not victims of multi-generational grief, but people with opportunities to get an education and help their tribal people. That’s the kind of message our graduates can take and build on, and with Sam’s encouragement I’m sure this will be one of the best keynotes we’ve ever had at our commencement,” said SGU President Lionel Bordeaux.
He went on, “We’re proud of our graduates and the work they’ve undertaken to achieve their degrees,” said SGU President Lionel Bordeaux. “It’s not an easy thing to go to college under the conditions many of our students face while living in sometimes severe poverty. Tribal college students climb higher walls to achieve what they achieve so that they can make a better life for themselves, and we honor them for their hard work and achievements as graduates of Sinte Gleska University.”
Commencement will begin at 1:00 PM with a Grand Entry, followed by opening prayers by Stanley Red Bird, Sr., and Keynote Address by Sam Deloria. President Bordeaux will award the diplomas, followed by a ceremony to tie on the eagle feathers each graduate has earned. A community meal will be served after the ceremony.