As we gear up for the coming winter, many of our families are preparing by gathering foods, preserving, hunting, and stocking up on supplies. In this episode we visit with various speakers about their experiences hunting. From the proud feelings of getting your first kill, to funny mistakes made, and eerie stories of Deer Woman, we get just a glimpse into the life and experiences of a modern Lakota hunter.

Speakers in this episode include: Bill Baylee One Horn (Oglála), Ben Black Bear Jr (Sičháŋǧu), Alex White Plume (Oglála), Wilber Witt (Oglála), Jerry Yellow Hawk (Cheyenne River), Robert Two Crow (Oglála), and Alex FireThunder (Oglála).

In this final episode of Season 1, we discuss the memories around Christmas and the various customs that have been introduced to our Lakota people via churches. We also discuss how resilient and innovative our people were to carry traditional Lakota concepts into these practices. For example, the word, “Wóšpipi,” means berrypicking, however the Christmas custom of receiving treats and presents under a tree is also described by this word. Similarly, Santa Clause was assigned the Lakota name, “Wazíya,” who existed in old traditional Lakota tales prior to contact with Christian missionaries. We’d like to extend our wishes for happy holidays to all and we look forward to delivering Season 2 of Wičháho Blihélya in 2024!

Speakers in this episode include: Wilber Witt (Oglála), Dave “Dawí” American Horse (Oglála), Theresa Mendoza (Oglála), Alvon Little Whiteman (Oglála), Imogene Roy (Oglála), Ben Black Bear Jr. (Sičháŋǧu), Robert Two Crow (Oglála), and Alex FireThunder (Oglála).

We are excited to kick off Season 2 with our first episode featuring one of the last fluent Lakota speakers from Wood Mountain (Ȟé-Čháŋ), the only Lakota speaking community in Canada, Hartland Goodtrack. We met Hartland last fall at the Thuswéčha Lakota/Dakota/Nakoda Language Summit in Rapid City.

We are so grateful that he took the time to speak with us and allow us to record him for the podcast. In this episode, he talks about growing up, being raised by his grandparents, and speaking Lakota. However, today he is one of the last living fluent speakers from his community. We can learn from his story to value and cherish the speakers in our communities and to continue working to ensure that our language continues on for generations to come.

This episode features speakers Hartland Goodtrack (Húŋkpapȟa), Robert Two Crow (Oglála), and Alex FireThunder (Oglála).