Lakota is a citizen of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma. Her undergraduate thesis was entitled “Bodewadmi ndaw, shishibani ndbendagwze: Tracing Potawatomi Identity from 1833 to the Present.” After graduating in 2013, she pursued an MA in Cultural Studies in Education and M.Ed. in Social Studies Education from the University of Texas at Austin. She graduated in 2016 after the completion of her graduate thesis, “Neshnabe Treaty-Making: (Re)Visionings for Indigenous Futurities in Education.” After graduating she returned to Oklahoma to work at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in community education and youth services. She now works as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians located in southwest Michigan.
