Female Aviation Grad Is First For Standing Rock Lakota Tribe

Standing Rock Lakota Tribe member Elspeth Thomas is a certified commercial pilot and working on her flight instructor certification.

Kimberly Johnson

Friday, December 03, 2021 at 05:30 PM ET

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Though she has always called Grand Forks home, Thomas’ mother was born and raised on the Standing Rock Reservation, and Elspeth has been an enrolled member of the tribe since birth. Courtesy: University of North Dakota

Key Takeaways:

Elspeth Thomas will be the first woman from the Standing Rock Lakota tribe to graduate as a commercial pilot from the University of North Dakota, where women comprise only 15% of aviation students.
Despite facing challenges as a first-generation aviation student, Thomas has earned multiple pilot certifications and is pursuing her initial flight instructor certificate.
Motivated by her heritage and Lakota culture, Thomas aims to inspire and mentor other young Native people to enter the aviation field and give back to her community.

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When aviation student Elspeth Thomas graduates from University of North Dakota next summer, she’ll not only be certificated as a commercial pilot, she will also be the first woman from the Standing Rock Lakota tribe to study aviation at the university, according to the school.

Demographic data for UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences underscores the accomplishment. Women comprise about 15 percent of students at the Grand Forks, North Dakota, school.