Allison Morrisette
Allison Morrisette, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, was born to Stephanie Louden and Joseph Morrisette Jr. Growing up in Martin, SD she participated in basketball, track, softball and various other groups. She then joined the South Dakota Army National Guard in 2012 and served 6 years with the 842nd Engineer Company. During that time, she also graduated from Oglala Lakota College with her BS in Information Technology. She started as a Correctional Officer for Pennington County and then went on to facilitate the Adult Diversion Program for the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office. Spending a couple years with Pennington County SAO she assumed her duties in 2022 as the state’s inaugural Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Coordinator.
Working in the area of Criminal Justice Reform, Allison has found her passion to help. While working at Pennington County she partnered with Wambli Ska Teen Center and helped create Oyate Kin Kawita Upikte; a community based cultural court. This court was designed to help relatives involved with the court system heal from their generational trauma while finding their cultural identity. She then realized a Criminal Justice Reform program could help her reservation and worked on the implementation of the first Juvenile Diversion on the Oglala Sioux Reservation. Allison’s newest position as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Coordinator for the State of South Dakota is an endeavor she is proud to do. Hoping to build bridges where there’s been challenges and paving a positive way of life for all our relatives.