UWS grad is first Native American appointed to UW Regents

MADISON (WPR) The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents is on the cusp of having its first Native American board member.  Governor Jim Doyle has appointed Eau Claire attorney Ed Manydeeds as its newest regent, pending confirmation by the state Senate.

Manydeeds is an enrolled member of South Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and a 1973 graduate of UW-Superior.  He’s also an alum of the UW Law School.   He says his perspective as a tribal member makes accessibility to higher education a priority, and he’s interested in making sure that all different minorities have that access.

Manydeeds says this is his opportunity to give back to the UW System and to serve as a role model for Native American students.

Manydeed’s appointment comes less than a month after St. Croix Tribal Chairman Lewis Taylor gave the annual State of the Tribes Address, where Taylor asked the governor and legislature for a Native American voice on the Board of Regents, as a way to develop curriculum and recognize the sovereignty of Wisconsin’s Indian nations.

Taylor says Manydeed’s appointment is “pretty fast work”, on that request.  He says it’s a sign that the atmosphere in Wisconsin is a recognition of what Indian people have contributed to society.

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Information from Wisconsin Public Radio, www.wpr.org