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 is set to become the first woman from the Standing Rock Lakota tribe to graduate as a commercial pilot from the University of North Dakota's aviation program, where women represent only about 15% of students.
She has already completed her commercial pilot certificate with multiengine and instrument ratings and is pursuing her flight instructor certificate, while also actively participating in several student organizations.
Inspired by her family's military background and Lakota cultural values, Thomas aims to inspire and create opportunities for more Native people to enter the aviation field, despite being a first-generation aviation student.

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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.