Lionel Bordeaux, Sinte Gleska University’s long-time President, passes

MISSION, South Dakota — Lionel R. Bordeaux, 82, a Rosebud Lakota Sioux tribal citizen and Sinte Gleska University’s President since 1973, passed away on November 16. He was 82. No cause has been given to his death.

Bordeaux’s career touched the lives of many, and he was widely recognized for his service to expanding culturally-based Native higher education and was among the most honored Native American educators in the United States.

“This is a tremendous loss for his family, Sinte Gleska University, the Rosebud Lakota Nation, and Indian Country,” said Sinte Gleska University (SGU) in a statement on Bordeaux’s passing. “For all who knew him, he was a grounding force in stormy times; a paragon of goodwill, solidarity, and wisdom; and the heart and soul of the Tribal College Movement to which he was fiercely devoted.”

Bordeaux was inaugurated by twelve Lakota medicine men as president of SGU on February 3, 1973, and has been the president since. He was the longest-serving college or university president in the United States.

This story was originally published by Native News Online.