Meet Our Team
We are creating a strong foundation with a diverse team of professionals driving our mission forward. Having individuals from different backgrounds and experiences will bring unique perspectives and approaches to addressing challenges and achieving our goals. By prioritizing diversity and recognizing the importance of representation at every stage of womanhood, the organization is ensuring that its initiatives resonate deeply with the community it serves. The collective dedication and passion for empowering matrilineal leadership will ensure that The 100 Horses Women's Society remains a beacon of hope and support for girls and women from all four stages of womanhood. Together, they embody the spirit of unity and resilience, standing as the backbone of the organization's efforts to create a more equitable and inclusive world for girls and women within our Cheyenne River Tribal Communities.
Medina Matonis
100 Horses Society Member
100 Horses Women’s Society Executive Director
Han mitakuyepi, Hunska Luta Win emaciyapi. I am an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and grew up in the community of Red Scaffold. I went through Isnati Ca Lowanpi in 2016 alongside my two daughters with my Ina, Rosalita Roach(my mother and cofounder of the 100 Horses Society), as our sponsor. I am ina to three awesome children, proud wife of a Navy Veteran, unci to two very special takoja girls, and tunwin to many amazing youth. I am very passionate about our youth. In 2016 the youth at Dupree School asked for a space to learn and practice their culture, in turn I founded the after school Lakota club, and have been bringing Lakota cultural education to the students since. My daughters and I are very active in supporting the mission of the 100 Horses Society, ensuring the Becoming a Woman ceremony is available to the future generation of girls and women of all ages. Tunwin Sandy and Ina Rosie gifted me with a leadership role for the Society. Creator puts you where you are supposed to be and has led me on a path of supporting and serving our youth. You are never where you are, by mistake, there is a purpose and one must be open to receive the message. My 150 year goal is to help create culturally rooted mothers, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers that lead their youth to success.
Zaniya Oakie
100 Horses Women’s Society Youth Mentor
Han Mitakuyepi, Zaniya Wawokiye Oakie emaciyapi. I am Mniconjou na Oglala Lakota, Comanche, and Choctaw and an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. I grew up in the Cherry Creek community. My ina is Amanda Washburn, my dad is Barry Oakie, my Unci is Anita Washburn (Straight Head), and my Lala is Rhae Washburn. I am a new mom to michinksi, my son, Za’lias Rhae Fast Wolf, he was born in September 2025. I graduated from Dupree High School in 2024 and completed a summer internship with the 100 Horses Women’s Society. I have set goals to continue my education and become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) through Oglala Lakota College. I currently serve as a Youth Mentor with the 100 Horses Women’s Society, a role I truly enjoy. I value the opportunity to learn more about our culture, explore others’ hobbies, and help teach Lakota Club kids new skills they can share with others. I was once a Lakota Club kid in middle and high school at Dupree School, and now I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to a program that helped shape my younger years. I especially enjoy working with Eunice and Cho, who make our work fun and meaningful by serving as strong role models and teaching me new skills.
Eunice Guardipee
100 Horses Women’s Society Youth Mentor
Han Mitakuyapi, Eunice Guardipee, emaciyapi. Ospaye mitawa ki Mnicoujou na Hunkpapa hematanhan ye. Wakpa Waste oyanke lematanhan ye. Mato Wakpa otonwahe lel wati he. Ina waye ki Georgia Baker eciyapi na ate Alan Guardipee eciyapi. Unci waye ki Lucille Howard eciyapi na Lala Cecil Baker Sr. eciyapi. Unci waye ki Edith Eye eciyapi. Hello relatives, My name is Eunice Guardipee. I am Mnicoujou and Hunkpapa Lakota. An enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and I currently reside on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in Bear Creek. My mother is Georgia Baker (Hunkpapa Lakota) and my father is Alan Guardipee (Mnicoujou Lakota). My grandparents on my maternal side are Lucille Howard and Cecil Baker Sr. I was raised by my paternal Grandmother Edith Eye. I grew up in Bear Creek, Swift Bird, Rapid City, and Eagle Butte. I spent a lot of my childhood on the powwow trail with my tunwin Luanne and big sister/cousin MerriAllyn. My tunwin Luanne made all my regalia for me. I was Mini Miss Cheyenne River at age 7, so tunwin made sure that I attended powwows all over Turtle Island. We were a powwow family. I have 3 children; Two daughters, Xena and Arabella who are now 9 and 8, and I just recently had my son, Tokala. I enjoy taking them to powwows. My daughters both dance jingle dress, I taught them at a young age that jingle dress dancing is a healing dance. I was raised in the church and now I am reconnecting with my Lakota culture. I’m passionate about learning our Lakota lifeways so that I can teach my children and the youth in our communities. Working with the 100 Horses Women’s Society has been a beautiful experience, I’m so grateful to be in the role of a Youth Mentor. I have learned a lot since I’ve started and have built meaningful relationships with so many amazing wincincila and winyan along the way. Thanks to my mentors that I’ve met along the way for all the knowledge and teachings. It has been amazing to watch this all unfold so far, and I feel empowered to be a part of it and honored to mentor the youth and help carry knowledge forward to strengthen the generations to come. I’m excited to be a part of the progress throughout the years.
Hochokanwin"Cho" Chasing Hawk
100 Horses Women’s Society Youth Mentor
Han MiTakuyapi, Hocokanwin Chasing Hawk emaciyapi, I also go by Cho for short. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I’ve moved around a lot between YST, CRST, SRST, and Bismarck, ND. I am Itazipco Lakota and Pabaksa Dakota. I am an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe along with my father, Wiyaka Chasing Hawk and my mother who raised me, Michele Chasing Hawk. My birth mother is Neva White Shield from the Spirit Lake Tribe. My paternal grandparents are Mabel Ann Eagle Hunter and Eagle Hunter, who are also enrolled members of Cheyenne River. During my time attending school in Dupree, my sister, DeCora Hawk, introduced me to handgames, where I also met Medina. What was meant to be a one-time tournament turned into something much more—I enjoyed handgames so much that I decided to stay and join the team for the next three years, up until the pandemic. Afterward, I moved to Bismarck, where I graduated from Bismarck High School in 2024. Although I have faced some setbacks over the past couple of years, I remain determined to continue pursuing my educational goals. I moved back to Cheyenne River in 2025, at the beginning of summer and joined the 100 Horses Women’s Society at the end of the summer! I enjoy being a youth mentor and working alongside Medina, Eunice, and Zaniya. I’m grateful for the positive work environment we have! I’ve been learning a lot since joining and I love learning more about our culture. Every day is something new and it's been nothing but good times! I enjoy meeting different people and getting to know the communities. I’m happy to be of service to the communities and I can’t wait to see the future of this program!
Lauryn Clown
100 Horses Women’s Society Food Systems Coordinator
Anpetu waste mitakuyapi. Cantewasteya napeciyuzapi. English Lauryn Clown emaciyapi na Lakota K’papte Wi miye. Wakpa Waste Oyanke ematanhan. Mnicojou na Oohenumpa na Itazipco hemacha. Unci Beverly Circle Eagle na Regina Ducheneaux na Judy Kessler na Lisa Ducheneaux na Audrey Kessler eciyapi. Lala Delmar Clown, Sr na Wayne Ducheneaux I na Bob Kessler na Todd Kessler eciyapi. Ina Jill Kessler eciyapi na ate Delmar Clown, Jr eciyapi. My partner and I have two daughters. Our cuwe (eldest daughter) never got to join us earthside, but she visits us in dreams and we know she is happy in Star Camp with our relatives. Our hapan (second daughter) is Azilya and she made her journey earthside in wetu (spring) 2025. Home on the reservation for me is in Wanbli Paha, but Cante’ Sni is the neighborhood that raised me and my siblings. We spent our days riding bikes, selling lemonade, and making indoor slip-and-slides when our Grandma & Papa went to the casino. When I wasn’t in town, I spent time with my family in Armstrong Co., Iron Lightning, Red Scaffold, Rudy Creek, and New Mexico. I graduated from C-EB in 2019 and after the pandemic I moved to Taspan Waste’ Otunwahe to attend United Tribes Technical College (UTTC). There, I earned my A.A.S. in Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems. Before finding my degree program, I thought agriculture was monocrops or hundreds of head of cattle which I knew wasn’t my passion. My UTTC experience challenged and changed my relationship with agriculture as it taught me small scale ag especially my own ability to create a tiwahe (household) food system wherever I lived. Precontact, our ancestors had their own unique food systems. Their food systems were developed with intention by centering food as relatives. Now in a time of post-contact and deep colonization, our food systems are designed to create more harm than good. I want to use my knowledge to intentionally recenter our local food system that provides positive outcomes for our wicozani (health). How I have started working towards this goal is by practicing my dreams within my own tiwahe and we began simply by evaluating ourselves – where do we source our daily food from, are we respectfully harvesting and using our medicines/natural growing foods, do we approach our food in kinship protocol giving thanks for its sacrifice, etc. It is challenging and overwhelming, but in those moments I use this manifestation – I will reclaim my own food system and I will support my relatives who want to reclaim theirs. Although my tiwahe’s journey to reclaiming our food as relatives will take us time, I know it will leave Unci Maka better for my takoja. As the Food Systems Coordinator with 100 Horses Society, I am excited to be home, share and gain knowledge, build relationships, and to be working alongside strong winyan who have the “want” to make meaningful change for themselves, their families, and their communities.