Burt Medicine Bull is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and the Montana native is one of the world’s leading experts in the Northern Cheyenne language. Burt’s Cheyenne name is Setovaatse which means Appears. Setovaatse is an instructor of Cheyenne language at Chief Dull Knife College. Keeping his tribe’s traditional language alive is more than just his profession, but a personal passion. Burt also teaches traditional Cheyenne beading and is himself an accomplished beading artist. Burt has spent nearly ten years building youth programming to showcase cultural exchanges. Burt is a role model for Cheyenne youth showing how traditional Cheyenne practice and formal education can work together to provide economic opportunity. Burt holds a B.S. from Montana State University and a M.A. in Educational Leadership from Oglala Lakota College.
Linwood Tall Bull is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. He has spent over 30 years working with the tribal health programs and the elderly programs as the director of the Shoulder Blade Independent Living Center. Linwood has been a teacher of medical programs in hospitals, teaching Doctors how to diagnose native patients using Indian sign language. Linwood is an active member of an ancient warrior Society. Their role is to preserve our culture and traditional beliefs. Linwood’s Cheyenne name is Ho’neh’eso which means Young Wolf. He now teaches Ethnobotany and other cultural courses at Chief Dull Knife College.
Randall Tall Bull is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. He has been recreating his ancestral tools and weapons of the Northern Cheyenne using the ancient methods with tools and techniques from that time period. He is an assistant working with his father, Linwood TallBull, teaching Ethnobotany and other cultural courses at Chief Dull Knife College.
High school student – Northern Cheyenne Reservation
Sam Chestnut has over 30 years of experience as an educational leader with expertise in cross cultural and experiential learning. His ground-breaking work with The Northern Cheyenne Nation has received significant national attention and has presented at national and international conferences. For over ten years he has developed programs for schools, adults and families to learn with The Northern Cheyenne Nation. In addition, Sam has developed partnerships with schools in China and facilitated learning experiences for students in China and Israel. Sam holds a B.A. from Kenyon College and a M.A. in Education from The University of Akron.
Matt Russ has over 23 years of experience as an educator in both the middle school and college settings. Matt has spent his educational career developing innovative programs and projects involving cross-cultural studies, experiential learning, outdoor education and service. Developing curricula that intersects literature and writing with cultural studies through experiential learning opportunities is an area of professional focus and interest. He currently serves as Curriculum Director and Middle School Humanities teacher at the Lippman School in Akron, Ohio. Additionally, he has been an adjunct instructor at Stark State College teaching developmental reading courses, writing and ethics for 15 years. Matt is the educational program director for The Lippman School’s cross-cultural partnership with the Northern Cheyenne Nation and Chief Dull Knife College. In addition to this, he is also a lead teacher and co-coordinator of Lippman’s cross-cultural exchange with the Dali Experimental School in Guangdong Province, China. Matt holds a B.S. in Journalism from Appalachian State University and a M.A. in Religious Studies from John Carroll University.
Mary Beth Henning has over 20 years of experience as a professor of social studies education. She taught for 17 years at Northern Illinois University and is now a professor at The University of Mount Union. Mary Beth specializes in interdisciplinary K-12 instruction that promotes critical thinking and intercultural understanding. She presents her research and curriculum/instructional innovations locally and nationally. She has published more than 25 different peer-reviewed articles, as well as edited a book, in the field of social studies education. She helped plan the first Lodge Approach Conference and an Education Symposium at The University of Mount Union featuring Northern Cheyenne students and elders. Her preservice teachers at Mount Union have been writing and teaching lesson plans using ahtove.org. Mary Beth earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Urban Studies from The College of Wooster, her master’s degree in Education from The University of Toledo, and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Penn State.
John Bennett has over 40 years of experience as a teacher. After retiring from the Akron Public Schools, where he was the 2012 APS Teacher of the Year, he joined The Lippman School as an embedded technology specialist. While at The Lippman School, John has been heavily involved in bringing student, faculty and community groups to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. John is passionate about using technology to bring cross cultural learning into experiential education that targets a technologically savvy student base. John has presented at numerous local, state and national technology conferences. He was part of the working group of the National Education Technology Plan 2010 and is the creator of the problem based learning unit for walkportagepath.org. John has a B.S. in Elementary Education and a Masters in Educational Administration from The University of Akron.