Tomi Kay Phillips () is an American (

Hunkpapa The Hunkpapa (Lakota: ) are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe. The name ' is a Lakota word, meaning "Head of the Circle" (at one time, the tribe's name was represented in European-American records as ...

Miniconjou The Miniconjou (Lakota: Mnikowoju, Hokwoju – ‘Plants by the Water’) are a Native American people constituting a subdivision of the Lakota people The Lakota (; or ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people. ...

) educator and academic administrator who has served as the president of

Sitting Bull College Sitting Bull College (SBC) is a public tribal land-grant college in Fort Yates, North Dakota. It was founded in 1973 by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in south-central North Dakota. The SBC campuses are loca ...

since 2024.

Life

Phillips is

and Minnecoujou Lakota. Her

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

name is Cante Wakan Win. She was born to Maxine Claymore and Duane Phillips. Her maternal grandparents are Leona Many Wounds and Sam Claymore and her paternal grandparents are Emma Brush Horn and John Lends His Horses. Phillips earned a B.S. in elementary education from the

University of Mary The University of Mary (UMary or simply Mary) is a private, Benedictine university near Bismarck, North Dakota. It was established in 1959 as Mary College. The university is the largest degree-granting institution in western North Dakota. It h ...

(UMary). She completed a M.S. in educational leadership from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

. She completed a doctorate in educational leadership and administration from UMary. Her 2020 dissertation was titled ''Native language and culture acquisition and native student success in school''. Phillips was a member of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. She worked as an educator for 28 years, including 18 years as an administrator. On August 1, 2023, she began mentoring under

president Laurel Vermillion. Phillips assumed office on January 1, 2024. Phillips has a partner and five children. As of 2023, she has resided in

Standing Rock Indian Reservation The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota controls the Standing Rock Reservation (), which straddles the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic "Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lako ...

for most of her life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Tomi Kay Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Hunkpapa people Miniconjou people Standing Rock Sioux people University of Mary alumni University of North Dakota alumni Native American United States military personnel Female United States Army personnel Sitting Bull College faculty Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Women heads of universities and colleges 21st-century Native American women Native American educators