Lushanya Echeverria
“My responsibility is not simply to preserve what was given to me, but to ensure that future generations inherit a living tradition rooted in ceremony, community, and care for All Our Relations."
Executive Director & Ceremonial Steward
Lushanya Echeverria is a Lakota Two-Spirit educator, storyteller, community leader, and the Executive Director of Kunsi Keya Tamakoce (Grandmother Turtle Land). As the youngest daughter of Beverly Little Thunder, Lushanya has lived within the teachings, ceremonies, and community of KKT since its founding in 1987.
Raised in a family dedicated to Indigenous ceremony, social justice, and community care, Lushanya has spent her life learning from elders, listening to stories, participating in ceremony, and carrying forward the matriarchal teachings entrusted to her by her mother and ancestors. Today, she serves as a steward of that legacy, guiding KKT into its next generation while honoring the vision that began nearly four decades ago.
Lushanya's leadership is rooted in the belief that healing happens through relationship—with one another, with the land, with our histories, and with future generations. Her work centers the wisdom of women, Two-Spirit people, elders, and youth, creating spaces where cultural teachings, community care, and spiritual responsibility can flourish together.
Professionally, Lushanya holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Innovation and has spent more than two decades working in education, nonprofit leadership, Indigenous community engagement, trauma-informed practice, youth development, and organizational leadership. Her experience spans public education, oral history and storytelling initiatives, truth and reconciliation work, leadership development, and community-centered program design.
As a speaker, educator, facilitator, and story steward, she is passionate about helping individuals and communities reconnect with belonging, purpose, and collective responsibility. Her work has brought together Indigenous knowledge, contemporary leadership practices, and intergenerational learning to support healing and transformation across diverse communities.
At Kunsi Keya Tamakoce, Lushanya oversees organizational leadership, community partnerships, fundraising, educational programming, and ceremonial coordination. She is committed to preserving the integrity of Lakota teachings while ensuring that future generations inherit a living tradition grounded in respect, reciprocity, accountability, and love for All Our Relations.
Above all, Lushanya understands her role not as an owner of this work, but as a caretaker—one generation among many entrusted with carrying the songs, stories, teachings, and responsibilities forward.
About Kunsi Keya Tamakoce
OUR STORY
For nearly four decades, Kunsi Keya Tamakoce (KKT) has served as a place of ceremony, community, and cultural continuity.
Founded by Beverly Little Thunder, KKT emerged from a vision of creating ceremonial spaces where women and Two-Spirit people could fully participate in and carry forward Lakota teachings.
What began as a commitment to preserving sacred traditions has grown into a living community dedicated to cultural revitalization, Indigenous leadership, land stewardship, and intergenerational learning.
Today, KKT continues this legacy through the leadership of Beverly's daughter, Lushanya Echeverria, and a growing community committed to carrying these teachings forward with integrity and care.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
Kunsi Keya Tamakoce is one of the few continuously operating matriarchal Lakota ceremonial communities in North America.
For nearly forty years, we have carried forward a Two-Spirit-inclusive ceremonial tradition rooted in prayer, land stewardship, intergenerational teaching, and relational accountability.
We are not simply preserving culture—we are actively living, practicing, and passing these teachings to future generations.
We preserve what is sacred and share what is meant to be shared. This balance of protection and accessibility has been at the heart of KKT since its founding and continues to guide our work today.
OUR MISSION
Kunsi Keya Tamakoce exists to support the continuation of Lakota ceremonial traditions through community, education, stewardship, and cultural practice.
We are committed to preserving what is sacred while creating pathways for respectful learning, participation, and relationship across communities. Through ceremony, leadership development, land stewardship, and intergenerational teaching, we work to ensure these teachings remain living traditions for future generations.
Respect • Reciprocity • Responsibility • Relationship • Remembrance
At Kunsi Keya Tamakoce, we are guided by the teachings of Respect, Reciprocity, Responsibility, Relationship, and Remembrance. These values inform how we care for one another, honor our ancestors, protect the land, and carry forward the sacred responsibilities entrusted to us.
Guided by relational accountability, sacred reciprocity, humility, community care, and respect for all our relations, we work to ensure that Lakota teachings remain living traditions for future generations.