LPTC President - Helene Lincoln
Picture: Jena Bush and Helene Lincoln, April 2008
Jena Bush, Keynote speaker at the annual Conference of Women in Government,
State of Wisconsin.
Little Priest Tribal College is excited to announe that Helene Lincoln has accepted the position as President of Little Priest Tribal College. As the new President of Little Priest Tribal College, Helene seeks to make LPTC a premier tribal college via further development in academics, research and by expanding the services in the area of language and culture.
To accomplish this Helene is proposing hosting a major Indigenous Language Association to highlight efforts and advance the accomplishments made here in Winnebago. This conference will bring in Indigenous Language educators and advocates here to share information.
Helene was born in Millston, Wisconsin on grandfather’s Indian homestead property. She did not speak English until she entered into school. This contributed to her fluency in HoChunk language. Helene’s grandfather and father were born and raised in Winnebago.
Helene has four adult children (Joel, Jon, Anne and Josh Thundercloud) and three grandchildren (Angel Thundercloud Nute, Kirsten Elizabeth Thundercloud, and Jayden Adam Thundercloud). Helene and her children are 4 / 4 Ho-Chunk and all three grandchildren are enrolled Ho-Chunk.
Helene Lincoln's Educational Background:
- Bachelor of Science degree in Education at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND in 1974.
- Master of Science degree in Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 1993 with core concentrations in Mental Health and Child Welfare.
- Completed graduate coursework in linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM; University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, ND; and University of Arizona, Tucson between 1979 and 1983 for the purpose of abstracting the rules for Hocak language following linguists interested in the Winnebago / Hocak language. Helene seeks to make fluent speakers as well as scholars in HoChunk linguistics.
- Studied American Indian linguistics with the late Dr. Ken Hale, Dr. Hugh Matthews, Dr. LaVerne Jeanne, and others.
- Authored and published Hocak Book of Language Lessons, 1996.
- Completed ten years of social work experience as a case manager, intake social worker, therapist, and an administrator of tribal human services departments. While at Ho-Chunk Nation, Department of Social Services, she created Clan Mothers, a body of tribal women who counsel young women.
- Spent over fifteen years in the Indian Education field as a classroom teacher and consultant at Wisconsin state education agency (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction). She also has experience as a language teacher and an administrator of tribal education programs.
- Over four years of teaching on the Winnebago Reservation, including lecturing HoChunk language at the Winnebago High School and Little Priest Tribal College. She also has over four years of practicing therapy/social work and administering human services on the Winnebago and Omaha Reservation.
- Awarded the Indian Educator of the Year in Wisconsin in 2004 by the Wisconsin Indian Education Association.
- Aawarded Tribal Woman of Distinction in Wisconsin, 2008 by the State of Wisconsin’s Women in Government Association.