U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will travel to South Dakota on Friday, Aug. 26, to conduct a roundtable discussion with tribal educators and stakeholders, hold a media availability following the conversation, and deliver the commencement address at Sinte Gleska University. He will also attend the Rosebud-Sioux 135th Tribal Fair.
S.D. Rep. Kristi Noem; Rodney Bordeaux, president, Rosebud Sioux Tribe; and several teachers, tribal, federal, and state education leaders will join Duncan for the roundtable conversation, which will address the challenges and successes facing rural Native American students. Following the participants’ discussion, Duncan and other will take questions from the audience. A media availability will follow.
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n the afternoon, Duncan will be the first keynote speaker at Sinte Gleska University’s 39th commencement, and will also participate in the awarding of the academic diplomas, GED certificates, and traditional cultural honors. Others joining him at the event include Larry Echo Hawk, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, who will deliver the second keynote address, and Lionel Bordeaux, president of Sinte Gleska University.