A Dakota elder, Rev. Donald Pratt is recognized throughout his community and nation for helping to keep the Dakota culture and language alive through his ministry and community service. Born in 1918, he briefly attended Elkhorn Residential School and, with only a Grade 3 education, continued to teach himself. He was ordained an Anglican Minister in 1974. He worked for the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, the St. Alban’s Parish in Oak Lake, as well as many First Nations in Canada and the United States. He is a respected historian and translator of documents from English to Dakota and vice versa for several organizations. He worked with the Sioux Valley Dakota Oyate government as a committee member and elder until 2003 and currently sits on the Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services board as one of the elders. Now retired, he continues to minister at St. Luke’s Anglican Church and offers his services whenever called upon.
