Ašʼápi (Dallas (da-luhs) Nelson) was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation. Dallas is the Director of the Lakota Language and Education Initiative at Thunder Valley CDC. He received his Bachelor’s in Sociology & American Indian Studies at Black Hills State University and his Master of Arts degree in Lakota Leadership and Management at Oglala Lakota College. Dallas is a long-time advocate for Indigenous Education, Lakota language reclamation and revitalization, social change, and social justice for all indigenous children and families.