Executive Director,
Cheyenne River Reservation,
South Dakota
Tatanka Luta’s mission is at my heart, it is what I have been about in all that I do, and we will fulfill it!.
Joseph J. Brings Plenty spent his childhood on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservation. He is the son of Enoch Brings Plenty and Della Makes Room. Joseph’s maternal grandparents are Moses Makes Room and Margaret Roach, while his paternal grandparents are Phillip Brings Plenty and Sophie Smith.
Between the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Reservations, Joseph lived most of his life on reservations. After attending various reservation schools, including Eagle Butte Middle School, Porcupine School, Red Cloud Indian School, Little Wound High School and Cheyenne Eagle Butte High School, Joseph attended the Kicking Horse Job Corps in Ronan, Montana, where he received his Diploma in General Education. He then achieved his Associates of Arts Degree in General Studies from NSU in 2000, with focused studies in Criminal Justice.
Joseph has worked in a variety of fields. First, law enforcement from 1993 to 2002, followed by work in social services from 2002 to 2006. He was Tribal Chairman CRST from 2006 to 2010. He became a school counselor for Takini School and Wounded Knee District School, serving in that role from 2011 to 2013. Currently, he is CRST Law Enforcement, serving since 2013.
In the summer of 2007 The Keeper of the Sacred Pipe, Arvol Looking Horse, conducted a Chief Ceremony for Joseph at the Cultural Center located in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Many people were witness to the ceremony, a life’s obligation to the Lakota nation.
Since 2000, Joseph has worked with the local boxing club, and created the Wolves Den Boxing Club. Since then, Joseph has trained local youth not only in boxing, but also Lakota cultural understanding. Using the boxing program, Joseph helps children understand their identity and heritage. Children involved in his boxing program have developed self-discipline, which has bolstered their confidence as well as their academic achievements. Through this work, Joseph achieved his dream of creating a safe place for reservation youth. This is his continued dream: to empower the Lakota youth, and to create a better future for Lakota families through the use of Lakota practices in mind, body, and spirit.
CONTACT: joe@tatankaluta.org