UVic Alumna Appointed to UNESCO Global Task Force

Tipiziwin Tolman (Sihasapa & Hunkpapȟa Lakȟota; Wičhiyena & Tizaptaŋna Dakȟota), an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a descendant of the Spirit Lake Dakota of North Dakota, has been appointed to the UNESCO Ad-hoc Group 2: Indigenous Language Transmission and Resilience Building of the Global Task Force for Making a Decade of Action for Indigenous Languages (IDIL2022–2032).

Tolman is from the Pretends Eagle, Yellow Lodge, and Half Skunk extended families of Standing Rock, and the Young and Longie families of Crow Hill at Spirit Lake, North Dakota. She and her husband, T Tolman, have six children and one grandchild, and make their home in the homelands of the Nimiipuu people in eastern Washington, USA.

A doctoral candidate in the Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education Ph.D. program at Washington State University, Tolman holds a Bachelor of Science in Native American Studies from Sitting Bull College and a Master of Education in Indigenous Language Revitalization from the University of Victoria.

She is a certified elementary educator in Washington State, and her research and praxis center on Lakota and Dakota language pedagogy, literacy, and the intergenerational teachings embedded in her great-grandparents’ winter count. Her family owns Haípažaža Pȟežuta, a business dedicated to traditional Indigenous plant-based bath and body products.

Her appointment to the Global Task Force showcases her leadership in community-based language revitalization, including organizing international exchanges between Dakota and Lakota language communities and Māori language experts in Aotearoa (New Zealand), developing language pedagogy and literacy lessons from her great-grandparents' winter count teachings, and promoting a praxis of peace for indigenous language teachers in their classrooms to challenge the school-to-prison pipeline. Tolman will participate in upcoming meetings to help shape international strategies for Indigenous language transmission and resilience.

“I’m honored to contribute to this global effort,” said Tolman. “Our languages carry the wisdom, laws, and lifeways of our people as learned from the land and water. This work is about ensuring that future generations inherit the strength of our ancestors’ voices.”

The Secretariat of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, Audrey-Maude Perreault, expressed enthusiasm for Tolman’s appointment: “Tipiziwin Tolman’s expertise, experience, and commitment to advancing the objectives of the Global Action Plan of IDIL2022–2032 will make an invaluable contribution to the work of the group. We are confident that her participation will enrich the collective efforts to safeguard, support, and promote Indigenous languages worldwide.”

Learn more about the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.