Greetings from LSI!

The 10th year of our Institute has brought a multitude of new and returning Lakota language learners, totaling around 120 participants in all! This year we also welcomed special visitors from the Mohegan Tribe, the Three Affiliated Tribes, and Apsáalooke Nation, who traveled to the Institute to learn about the best-practice teaching methods that Indian Country is buzzing about. We are thankful for new visitors and thrilled to share our language revitalization strategies to get others excited about starting their preservation movements.

We’ve put together just a few of our favorite highlights from this week below. This week’s courses included Intensive Lakota/Dakota for Beginners, Lakota/Dakota Phonology, Lakota/Dakota Inflectional Morphology, Lakota Song & Dance, Ethnobotany & Plant Identification, Teaching Lakota/Dakota Methods, Lakota/Dakota Grammar, and more!

Opening Ceremony:

Many words of encouragement were shared at the Opening Ceremony. Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault and SRST Council Members extended a warm welcome to all participants of this special year – the 10th Anniversary of LSI. SRST Tribal Education Manager and LSI Coordinator Sunshine Archambault-Carlow spoke about the goals for preservation and maintenance of Lakȟótiyapi, what impact the Summer Institute has for future generations, and where we want to be in 100 years. She remarked how intense these three weeks can be, but that all the hard work is worth it!

Lakota Song & Dance:

The Lakota/Dakota Song & Dance class, led by elder Ben Black Bear, was small but covered many songs and dances, including the Omaha Dance, Rabbit Dance, Round Dance, Sneak-up dance, Kit fox Society Dance, Strong Heart Society Dance and Song, Honoring Penny Songs and Dances, and Victory Dance.

Additionally, the group watched videos demonstrating all of the different dances and listened to songs associated with Night Dances and Love Song Dances, while studying some of their lyrics.

“They are poetic expressions and the students found them very interesting to hear them, write them down, and learn about what they mean. But, one week is not enough time to cover everything that we wanted to talk about! Another Lakota Song and Dance class is scheduled for next week in the evenings,” Ben reassured us.

Lakota/Dakota Grammar &
Intensive Lakota/Dakota for Intermediates:

Students in Jan Ullrich’s classes have dived into the depths of Lakota and Dakota Grammar! Participants have been gathering a wealth of knowledge about verb conjugation patterns, syntactic structure and grammar rules within the context of everyday conversation and traditional narratives. Jan shared, “Many of the students in my classes have made tremendous progress in their learning, so that is very encouraging.”

Hand Games, Pottery and more! 

LSI participants study hard during the day…but in their off hours they like to have fun too! This week in the evenings, many of our participants participated in Hand Games tournaments or took a Mandan/Hidatsa pottery class at the Sitting Bull Visitor Center, where they could make something with local Standing Rock clay.

LDL 210 – Lakota/Dakota Inflectional Morphology Instructor Denny Gayton also announced an upcoming Adult Language Competition, which will kick off this Sunday, June 12th with a practice competition.

We encourage you to follow all of our LSI 2016 updates on our Facebook  and Twitter pages. Stay tuned for announcements for week 2, including details about upcoming events and a performance by Scatter Their Own!

LSI 2016 Photos for Week 1 – Click Here!

Have you heard about the Lakota Grammar Handbook, due to arrive in Fall 2016?

The Grammar is a 600-page self-study and reference pedagogical guide to the language. It is based exclusively on data obtained from authentic narratives recorded by native speaking elders across Lakota country. With over 220 units, 7273 example sentences and 11613 practice sentences full of culturally relevant content, this book is the most comprehensive Lakota learning resource to date, giving its reader the power to use the language accurately and with more confidence.

Last month, elder, teacher and first language-speaker Ben Black Bear stopped by our headquarters to work on the Grammar. Ben has been vital in providing the voice recording for this project, having already spent 50 hours in the recording studio! He has also proofread the Grammar, to ensure that the words included are those actually used in idiomatic Lakota speech and that they are correctly used and written. You can look forward to over 10,000 practice sentences taken from conversations between native speakers. In this way, not only is there grammatical accuracy, but important contextual and cultural relevancy to your Lakota-language learning.

During this year’s Lakota Summer Institute, students in Jan Ullrich’s classes got a first look at the Grammar; participants in the Lakota/Dakota Inflectional Morphology II course worked with excerpts of the Grammar to explain causative verbs to their classmates.

The Lakota Grammar Handbook is scheduled for release this fall, but in the future, Lakota learners of all levels also have a multimedia version of the Grammar to look forward to! Students will be able to complete interactive computer exercises such as translating dialogues, selecting correct verb forms, and completing fill-in-the-blank sentences. Exciting new features will include the ability for users to click on a sentence and hear it read by a native Lakota speaker.

Watch llcbookstore.com this fall for its release!

If you’ve been keeping up with the LLC and its partners, you already know that in our mission to revitalize Lakota, we provide critical infrastructural support to tribal education departments, schools, and work to increase public awareness on the crisis of disappearing languages. As part of this mission, we’re also working on strengthening our cultural partnerships, given that cultural activities, history and tradition are essential to successful language revitalization programs.

Beginning this year, the Lakota Language Consortium and our sister organization The Language Conservancy will work closer with Kevin Locke and other Lakota performers to bring the broader public many co-branded events! Mr. Locke, world-renowned educator, plains flute player and hoop dancer, has been a Board Member for the Lakota Language Consortium since its conception in 2004. He has actively moved Lakota language revitalization initiatives forward through his teaching, public speaking as well as flute-playing (check out this post on the LLC blog about the revival of the Lakota flute from 2013 ).

In Mr. Locke’s latest project, five years in the making – Lightning & Wind – he collaborated with Douglas Good Feather to create an album straight from the heart of Lakota culture. This album celebrates love in all its joys and woes through a genre of song called wiílowaŋ (“serenades” or “songs of women”). Lightning & Wind brings together archival recordings of some of the last keepers of these songs with masterful flute work by Kevin Locke and contemporary vocals by Douglas Good Feather. Wiílowaŋ flourished in the pre-reservation period when they were taught as part of the art of traditional subsistence. Although the social context that gave rise to wiílowaŋ has disappeared, their entertainment value has persevered, and the emotions they sing of are timeless gifts of the Plains. The album is available for download on CD Baby.

This weekend, Mr. Locke will be performing for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in celebration of the Annual Children’s Festival (details here). If you are in New York, we encourage you and your family to come out and celebrate Lakota culture with Mr. Locke!

To learn more about Mr. Locke’s work, visit https://kevinlocke.com/ and follow the latest updates about events by liking his Facebook page.

The TLC team is looking forward to working closely with Mr. Locke and his team to bring new and exciting events. To book Kevin Locke as an educational speaker or performer, please contact Eddie Santos:

Voice: 605-646-3993

Text: 949.923.5059

eddie@kevinlocke.com

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? This holiday was first introduced 20 years ago by the Academy of American Poets to raise awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. To highlight this holiday, we wanted to shine a spotlight on Lightning  & Wind –  what better way to acknowledge the importance of poetry than through beautiful Lakota traditional songs?  This album celebrates love in all its joys and woes through a genre of song called wiílowaŋ (“serenades” or “songs of women”). Lightning & Wind brings together archival recordings of some of the last keepers of these songs with masterful flute work by Kevin Locke and contemporary vocals by Douglas Good Feather.

Wiílowaŋ flourished in the context of the pre-reservation social structure in which the genders were separated upon adolescence in order that they could concentrate on mastering all of the traditional subsistence skills required. Once these skills were mastered, the young men and women were eligible for marriage. Wiílowaŋ in both vocal and instrumental forms developed as a means of bridging the inter gender communication gap. At one time wiílowaŋ were commonplace and everyone was familiar with this genre, so much so that a specialized vocabulary arose to describe the subtle nuances expressed: wióište olówaŋ (embarrasment song), wikúŋ olówaŋ (coveting song), wióyuspa olówaŋ (capturing song), wiínaȟma olówaŋ (secretive song), and so on. The full range of human emotions, tragedy and humor are portrayed through the medium of wiílowaŋ.

These songs originate from the Elk Dreamer Society. This group was responsible for making songs for people who needed to say something in music and dance. They also made flutes, and put on feasts and dance performances to keep the music flowing and developing throughout the culture. When the Elk appeared in your dreams, that was the sign that your gift to the people would be music and dance.

Serenading songs follow a formula, like a haiku. The opening phrase is repeated three times at the beginning – an incomplete thought, something that gets the listener wondering what this is about. Then the next phrase gives substance and illuminates the meaning of the first phrase. The first part of the song is structurally quite different from the second part.  It changes substantively unlike any other genre of indigenous music.

Below we have included lyrics, in Lakota and English, to the ninth song on the album – Tȟéhaŋ Níŋ Kte “You are going to go far away”. Follow along by reading the lyrics and listening to the song on YouTube.

Tȟéhaŋ Níŋ Kte

Tȟéhaŋ níŋ kte.

Iyókiphi-mayayiŋ naháŋ tȟéhaŋ níŋ kte.

Makȟá tȟéhaŋ yaúŋ kte so?

Apȟé čhiúŋ kte.

—

You are going to go far away.

You made me happy and now you are going far away.

Are you going to stay in a distant land?

I will wait for you.

Even though the social context giving rise to wiílowaŋ disappeared during the early reservation period its entertainment value persevered well into the 20th century. The album is available for download on CD Baby and you can stream it in full on YouTube:

We’ve received a great many questions about lodging information for this year’s LSI, which is now confirmed! Participants are encouraged to read through the information below and get in touch if you have any questions.

PRAIRIE KNIGHTS CASINO HOTEL

• We invite our guests to stay at the Prairie Knights Casino Hotel at a special rate of $50 per night (available June 5-June 25).
• We’ve reserved a block of 40 rooms under “Lakota Summer Institute”.
• To make your reservations, please call 1-800-425-8277 ext. 7704
  
  

SITTING BULL COLLEGE DORMS
**Please read the information below carefully. There have been some changes regarding dorm rooms for LSI from the previous years.**

• There is a limited number of dorms available for LSI participants (8 male, 8 female). These are given out on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Applications are AVAILABLE HERE. For information please CLICK HERE. For dorm availability and reservations please contact:
  • Sterling St. John
    Housing Director at Sitting Bull College
    sterling.stjohn@sittingbull.edu
    phone: 701-854-8022
    fax: 701-854-3124
• Instead of a deposit, all dorm rooms now require a one time, non-refundable $100 application fee. Additionally, each dorm costs $24 per night.
• Participants staying in SBC dorms must also pay for their own background check (on average $25 for a state, federal, county or tribal background check)

By now we’re sure you’ve heard about all the great things being offered at LSI this year! As part of the 10th Anniversary celebration, we’ve invited Scatter Their Own to perform, with special local guests Humor The Ruse. The performance will be held at:

Prairie Knights Casino Pavilion
Thursday, June 16th at 8 PM
……
FREE for youth under 13, elders and LSI Participants
General Admission $10
Tickets at the door $12
…………

You can now reserve your tickets at https://sto-at-lsi2016.eventbrite.com

Check out the poster for the event below and share it with your friends and family! You can follow updates about the upcoming performance on the Lakota Summer Institute 2016 Facebook Event Page. You can pre-register for Lakota Summer Institute at https://www.laksummerinst.com

Are you a poet but don’t know it?  Here’s your chance to build your poetry skills and take your Lakota proficiency to a whole new level!

During this 2016 Lakota Summer Institute, fluent speakers of Lakota will have the the opportunity to participate in the first ever Lakota poetry course. Ben Black Bear, a first-language Lakota speaker, and Lawrence Diggs, South Dakota Humanities Scholar, will co-teach the course the third week of LSI.

During the workshop, participants will explore and create new Lakota poetry styles, work on poetry reading and public speaking skills, including body language and experience that helps one communicate poetry.

When asked about the importance of such a course for the Lakota language, Diggs commented,

“The depth and breadth of life experiences demand expression in many forms. Poetry offers us an opportunity to dance with a language. There are many poetry styles. The beauty of poetry is that you can create your own styles. […] We will be exploring and discovering new ways the language can be beautiful when we play with the sounds, nuanced meanings of words and unique Lakota expressions. We will show you how to use poetry to encourage vocabulary expansion and deepen understanding of words and expressions. Writing poetry in a language takes you from being a craftsperson to an artisan in that language. […]

We will work hard and fast, but the most important thing is we want to have fun. You will learn to love Lakota language even more by experiencing how much more you can express in Lakota with poetry.  You will leave equipped with tools to make your Lakota teaching experience more exciting and fun for you and your students.”

Black Bear and Diggs will both contribute a different dynamic to the new course. Ben Black Bear brings his expertise in Lakota language. You may know him as the voice of “Papa Bear” in Matȟó Waúŋšila Thiwáhe, the Lakota-language Berenstain Bears cartoon, but Mr. Black Bear is also a teacher of Lakota Studies and Lakota language at St. Francis Mission School in St. Francis, SD. With decades of Lakota teaching and language experience, at LSI and elsewhere, Mr. Black Bear’s teaching style is sure to make every participant comfortable and confident in their poetry abilities.

Lawrence Diggs shares his cumulated knowledge of poetry from a lifetime of dedication to the arts.  Diggs has traveled to every continent except the Antarctic and addresses his global experiences through his art, such as poetry (in English and Japanese), photography, animation, and ceramics. He aims to use these media to encourage communication on difficult topics. His works are featured in the HGS Gallery in Luvern, MN and he serves as a member of Northeast Artist Network.

We’re looking forward to seeing this duo at work! “Creating new literary styles in a language is a sure signal that a language is not dead. Who knows, we may be creating a whole new tradition in the Lakota language. Creating new traditions is a sure signal that a culture is not dead. This bud can blossom. This blossom can fruit,” explained Diggs.

Philáuŋyayapi kšto!

Thank you to everyone who attended the 3rd Lakota Language Weekend in Rapid City on April 2-3. The weekend was a great success – it is the participants’ enthusiasm and passion for learning and teaching Lakȟótiyapi that is the driving force behind events like this!

During this language weekend, we had the biggest beginner, intermediate and fluent speaker groups yet! But it wasn’t just the sheer number of participants that made the event successful. The teachers, organizers and support staff created a positive and comfortable atmosphere for all learners.

We were also excited to host Lakota magician Reuben Fast Horse, who shared his love of magic,  the Lakota language, and the creation of new words (neologisms) through an engaging performance.

If you weren’t able to make it this time, we hope you join us at the Lakota Summer Institute, which is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year! With over 30 classes to choose from this year, we are certain that every participant will find something they’re excited about. Read this post to get all the information about the Institute.

For Lakota language learning materials and resources, visit the LLC bookstore. As always, we welcome any questions about personal orders, school orders and discounts at customersupport@lakhota.org

Click here to watch the KEVN Black Hills Fox segment about Lakota Language Weekend.

One thing we noticed at last year’s Lakota Summer Institute was how well some of the newcomers were speaking Lakota. Paulette R. High Elk commented, “When we had the opening ceremony, all of the new people introduced themselves in Lakota. I was very impressed!” We asked some participants what their secret was, and many responded…the Lakota Language Forum!

If you are not part of the forum yet, make yourself an account (it’s FREE). The forum currently hosts over 10,000 members and 60,000 posts, and it’s growing! It’s a great place to get introduced to the language, practice listening, reading, writing, and to connect with fellow learners.

Don’t get us wrong, Facebook is great, but it’s more of a news source. Posting a language-related question on Facebook will surely get you many fast replies, but how reliable will those responses be? In the Lakota Language Forum, you can be sure that experienced people with Lakota language background will join the discussion and answer your question.

Still need more reasons to join? Here’s a list of pros:

1. All discussion is moderated. This means the atmosphere is friendly and respectful.

• Nervous to join the forum? Well, don’t be! Everyone is learning Lakota at their own pace and makes mistakes. Rest easy knowing that the privacy of the forum is much better than Facebook!

2. Need to search a word or phrase? No problem! Finding older questions and answer is much easier than on Facebook. Instead of endlessly scrolling through a newsfeed, you can simply use the search function. You can also search your own posts for the question you asked, say, 4 years ago!

3. Additionally, you can double click any word in the forum to see its entry from the dictionary, right in the same window!

4. The “Sentence of the Week” forum page is a great method for beginners to get a sense for Lakota sentence structure, and to learn new vocabulary all the while doing this.

• You can also learn from sentences other learners wrote and from mistakes other learners have made. The forum is made for discussion and collaboration, so all sentences are easily accessible in one place.
• For advanced learners and contributors, reading material is available—a great way to develop language skills.  This material is read and translated together. Here are some examples:
  • The Turtle https://www.lakotadictionary.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3242#p38621
  • Iktomi Takes his Mother-in-Law on the Warpath https://www.lakotadictionary.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1819#p18469

5. Audio files are also easily accessible, so you can better familiarize yourself with Lakota pronunciation and speech!