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Started in 2016, the Wokini Initiative is SDSU’s collaborative and holistic framework to support American Indian student success and Indigenous nation-building. The initiative builds upon current tribal partnerships and the American Indian Student Center services to enhance cultural programs and support for American Indian students while increasing research and outreach partnerships with tribes, tribal colleges and other organizations.

The Wokini Initiative partnered with Levitt at the Falls to bring a free four-day, two-city Innoskate festival that included stops on the Pine Ridge Reservation and Sioux Falls.

In 2023, SDSU Connect continued to play a pivotal role in advancing South Dakota State University's land-grant mission, weaving a story of impactful engagements within South Dakota’s fastest growing business and educational community.

A $50,000 grant from The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation will help to identify the health care priorities and needs of the Lakota community in Rapid City, while working with the Woyatan Lutheran Church and the Wambli Ska Teen Center to develop a culturally responsive, trauma-informed program to train and support community health workers.

The existence of the Frank Ross Glass Plate Negatives Collection is a case of right time, right place. The collection was produced by a Brookings area photographer named Frank Ross, according to a Nov. 17, 2022, Arlington Sun article. Ross captured portraits and images of daily life in and around Brookings County at the turn of the 20th century.