SD Indian Education Director Amiotte starts June 9

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Lowell Amiotte (AY'-mee-awt) will be the next director of the South Dakota Office of Indian Education.

Amiotte is an Oglala Lakota tribal member born on the Pine Ridge reservation.

State Education Secretary Melody Schopp announced the appointment at a recent State-Tribal Relations Committee meeting.

Schopp says the position is a huge undertaking and it was tough to find an experienced person willing to do the job. The last director resigned in 2012. Keith Moore has filled in as interim director.

Amiotte has experience as a middle school teacher and spent years at Black Hills State University and South Dakota State University. He was the president of Oglala Lakota College for three years.

He had been retired for a few years before accepting the position. He starts June 9.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Related topics