Leroy LaPlante, Jr.

Leroy "JR" LaPlante, Jr. currently serves as the Secretary of Tribal Relations for the State of South Dakota. A citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, he served as Chief Administrative Office for his nation from 1998 to 2001. In 2002, he was named the official ambassador for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. He also is a practicing attorney who has worked with Native nations in areas such as housing and economic development. LaPlante has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Carson-Newman College (Jefferson City, Tennessee) and a juris doctorate in law from the University of South Dakota. He recently served as an AmeriCorps legal fellow for Access to Justice, Inc., and is currently participating in the Archibald Bush Foundation's Native Nation Rebuilders program.