Wizipan Leadership and Sustainability Certificate

Program Coordinator/Contact

Joshua Rudnik, Assistant Professor
School of American and Global Studies
Lincoln Hall 132
605-688-5101

Program Information

The Wizipan Leadership and Sustainability Certificate is based on the Lakota term Wachante Hecha Wizipan, The Heart of Everything that Is. The certificate program uses Indigenous knowledge systems, language, culture, and kinship to land as its primary learning tools to explore the connection between Indigenous land-based knowledge and sustainability. The required AIS 100 - Introduction to American Indian and Indigenous Studies  course provides students with an educational foundation in Indigenous cultures and perspectives. The leadership offerings and electives allow students to explore sustainability from multiple perspectives including environmental, community, health, culture, and language. Students leave the program equipped with the knowledge and skillsets needed to understand the potential of their leadership roles within their communities. Students are encouraged to evaluate and understand the relationship of care of self (trauma, mental, physical, spiritual health), care of community (kinship and family), care of environment (land, food and sustenance), and care of culture (language, narrative, ceremony).

Course Delivery Format

The program follows a thematic structure and will be delivered in an innovative, interdisciplinary approach rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems.