October 11, 2021
Each year on Native Americans’ Day, Crazy Horse Memorial honors a worthy educator with the award of Educator of the Year - and this year, it is our pleasure to award someone who is well-known for her lifelong connections to American Indian elders whose teachings she has shared with students throughout the region.
Our 2021 Educator of the Year is Jace Decory.
Jace is a Professor Emeritus of Black Hills State University where she taught for over 30 years. The Center for American Indian Studies on the BHSU campus is dedicated in her honor. Jace has had an amazing influence on many, many students over the decades and she continues to serve and teach students, including the students who study at The Indian University of North America here at Crazy Horse Memorial.
Jace DeCory is Lakota from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and has connections throughout the Oceti Sakowin. She received her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of North Dakota where she helped start the American Indian Studies major. She also taught and helped develop curriculum at Turtle Mountain Community College in North Dakota. DeCory received her Master’s degree in Education from South Dakota State University and she pursued doctoral students at the University of Washington.
Jace had another commitment today - celebrating Native Americans’ Day at Wind Cave - and was not able to be with us but regardless, please join us in honoring her as the Crazy Horse Memorial’s Educator of the Year.
