The woman referred to as the “heart and the backbone of the Mendota Dakota community” has announced her retirement.

After 32 years of volunteer work with the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community, Sharon Lennartson has announced her retirement as tribal chair. Her spirit name, Wakiya Waste Win, translates in English to Good Thunder Woman, reflecting the positive power one brings in their daily life.

When Lennartson, 78, first became involved with the organization, there were only a handful of members, few community events organized and little in the organizational coffers.

Members of the community said she built a robust organization, created a community food shelf, began hosting language classes and started cultural events like a regular inipi — a sweat lodge, prayer and feast ceremony at the historic Hypolite Dupuis House in Mendota — as well as an annual wacipi, or pow wow.“She is the backbone and the heart of the community,” said Rita Chamberlain, a volunteer and honorary member with the Mendota Dakota tribe. “Everybody respects her and her wisdom. Without that, I don’t know what would happen to the tribe. She’s like the glue.”

Honorary member Samantha Walker, who said she also holds lineal roots to the Mendota Dakota people, is currently completing a master of legal studies program in indigenous people’s law at the University of Oklahoma.

The reason she enrolled? Sharon’s encouragement, she said.

Walker was helping catalog items at the office when Sharon planted the seed in Walker’s mind.

“She said, ‘It seems like you really have a knack for this. You should do something about it.’ I felt called, that I needed to do more, beyond just giving my mind,” Walker said. “She places such a fire in the belly of everyone she touches, to uplift and to make change in the community around them.”

Mary Kay Kennedy, also an honorary member of the tribe, agreed with Walker’s reflections. Kennedy has been volunteering with the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community for more than a year.

“She is a ball of energy that once one thing ends, she goes to the next thing on her list,” Kennedy said. “I think the native name Good Thunder Woman really captures the spirit of who she is.”

For her part, Lennartson said she felt fulfilled to look back on what she has been able to build within the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota tribe, that her passion for preserving Dakota culture, protecting the future of the tribe, and building lasting relationships within the community has been the foundation of her efforts.

“I love my community and my people,” Lennartson said.

The tribe has not yet announced Lennartson’s replacement.