Professor Emeritus (1990 – 2020), Social Work Department, UW – Stevens Point

Alton “Sonny” Smart is an Anishinaabe educator who occupies many roles in native and non native communities. He is first and foremost a grandfather, father, husband, son, uncle, and grandson. He is a Tribal Judge; a United States Army (Airborne) Vietnam Veteran; He holds positions on Ojibwa ceremonial Big Drum and Midewiwin medicine societies. He is a member of the Band River Band of Chippewa of Wisconsin, where he was born into the Fish Clan. His spiritual names of Ozaawa ana-quad (Yellow Cloud) and later a Menominee tribal name of Notnowgiishick (Center Sky), when he was adopted into a Menominee Tribal Family.

He is currently Professor Emeritus of Social work at the University of Wisconsin –Stevens Point. (1990-2020) Where he coordinated the Native American Rural Social Work program and Native American Family Institute. He served as Program director of department Social Work program. 2010-15. He taught courses in Native American Social work, child Welfare, Problems in Family Interaction, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, and other social work courses. He has under-graduate and graduate degrees in the social work, sociology and has post-graduate training in Family Therapy. He is state certified as a third-party therapist in individual, family and group therapy. He has served as an expert witness in many Indian Child welfare cases and has done numerous cultural assessments in such cases.

He has worked for various Wisconsin Tribes in many capacities, such as clinical social worker, director of alcohol and drug prevention, in-home family therapist, director of family and counseling services, high school guidance counselor, school cultural specialist, health careers recruiter. He served in the United States Army Airborne field medic in Vietnam and Germany. He has served as a Tribal Judge for the Bad River Band since 1985 where he currently Senior Associate Tribal Judge. (semi-retired)

He currently does consultant work and training in the areas of tribal mental health, Indian child welfare, treatment modalities in working with tribal families, alcohol and drug intervention and prevention, cultural parenting programs, Indian education and cultural teaching styles, community and program development, Peacemaking in tribal courts.