'Thundering Eagle'; February 9, 1940 – November 16, 2022) was a Sicangu Lakota educator, advocate, and president of Sinte Gleska University (SGU) from 1973 until his death in 2022.
During that time, both his grandfather and brother passed away, and his mother gave up her beauty business in Sioux Falls.
Due to the emotional toll, Bordeaux returned home to White River, where he shared a small house with his grandmother, mother, and adopted sister.
[4] Bordeaux graduated from BHSU in 1964[5] with a BA in composite history and social science and a minor in psychology.
[1] After graduation, he took with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as a counselor on the Jicarilla Apache reservation in Dulce, New Mexico.
[1] In 1969,[3] Bordeaux returned to South Dakota, settling in Pine Ridge, where he began acting as a guidance counselor and instructor at several area schools.
There, he earned a master's degree in guidance and counseling and then prepared to apply as area director for the BIA.
Tribal leadership wanted Bordeaux to lead the college, due to his knowledge and respect of Sicangu language and culture.
[8] On December 2, 2022, U.S. Representative for South Dakota Dusty Johnson entered into the record a memoriam speech in Bordeaux's honor.
In 2018, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard issued a proclamation that February 9, 2018, be celebrated statewide as Lionel R. Bordeaux Day.