ST. PAUL — Over 20 years ago, Native-led nonprofit Dakota Wicohan was formed in southwestern Minnesota with the vision of revitalizing and preserving the Dakota language.
Gabrielle Strong is vice chair for the organization’s board of directors. Her mother, Yvonne Leith, was one of three founders who started the grassroots organization.
“She was born a first-language Dakota speaker and, as many others in her generation, experienced the brutality of the education system. Efforts to annihilate culture and annihilate language, that was her experience,” Strong said.
She says when Leith entered kindergarten, where English was the only spoken language, she slowly started to forget her first language over time.
“Later in life, she began her own personal journey and commitment to reclaim all of that,” Strong said.
She says Leith was active in her community and initiatives to reclaim Native identity and culture. In her early 60s, Leith co-founded Dakota Wicohan.
“There was no office, there was no building at that time. It was just pure elbow grease and determination that sparked those original efforts,” she said.
Dakota Wicohan now has an office in Morton and has expanded its offerings through cultural teachings and several programs.
Executive director Doris Stands said they hope to expand programs, like their existing youth horse program.
“I think it’s a win for our community and the people that we serve, to have these opportunities. It’s sort of a trickle effect. It’s a benefit for the community,” Stands said.
She said the organization has been expanding its reach into other communities, such as Rapid City, South Dakota.
Dakota Wicohan staff and leaders participated in the Indigenous Peoples Day parade this year, where Stands says they were recognized.
“People who knew us, they were, you know, cheering us on and saying, ‘You guys do amazing work, and it’s good to see you.’ And so that was really inspiring, to know that we are reaching far and wide,” she said.
This is the first year the foundation has awarded the prize to two separate organizations, splitting the award evenly, according to the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation’s senior director of partnerships, Kari Onyancha.
“One for metro area-based organizations and one for Greater Minnesota,” she said. “We really saw the need to ensure and guarantee through our structures that a Greater Minnesota-based organization received dollars through this award.”
Dakota Wicohan is the Greater Minnesota honoree for the 2025 Bush Prize: Minnesota. The organization will receive $250,000 that can be used for any charitable purpose within the state.
Onyancha highlighted Dakota Wicohan’s impact on the communities it serves through its youth horse program and language revitalization.
“They’re building cultural lifeways in a community that the U.S. government has historically disenfranchised and even punished for their cultural heritage. So, there was a recognition that the work that Dakota Wicohan is doing within our community here in Minnesota is really vital,” Onyancha said.
Strong said Dakota Wicohan is grateful for the recognition of their efforts in preserving the Dakota language and lifeways.
“Rural efforts such as this don’t often get the visibility and attention. So, there’s hidden gems like Dakota Wicohan in rural, grassroots areas,” Strong said.
Strong hopes the organization will continue to grow in the upcoming years, with the community working together toward language and culture preservation.“I hope for the continuation of Dakota Wicohan’s efforts formally, but even informally,” she said, “among our people, within our communities, to continue to work together, to be able to ensure that our next generations have something to hold on to — that we’re able to speak Dakota language, that we’re able to practice our Dakota lifeways and our traditions.”
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