{"id":36287,"date":"2023-06-23T17:15:10","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T22:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/lak%cc%87olya-waoniya-breathing-life-into-the-lak%cc%87ota-language\/"},"modified":"2023-06-23T17:15:13","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T22:15:13","slug":"lak%cc%87olya-waoniya-breathing-life-into-the-lak%cc%87ota-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/lak%cc%87olya-waoniya-breathing-life-into-the-lak%cc%87ota-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Lak\u0307olya Waoniya -\u2018Breathing Life into the Lak\u0307ota Language"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Haylee Quick Bear gathering material to build a tipi. A large part of Lakolya Waoniya\u2019s curriculum is participating in Lakota-based cultural activities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Despite being a high achiever with a stack of college acceptance letters, Natalie Bordeaux felt she needed time for personal reflection before taking the next big step in her life. Two years later, she could never have imagined how her life has changed.
\nBordeaux is one of seven learners in the first cohort of Lakolya Waoniya, which translates roughly to \u201cBreathing Life into the Lakota Language.\u201d The program pays members of the Si\u010ba\u014b\u0121u Oyate \u2013 or Rosebud Sioux Tribe \u2013 a full-time salary to study the Lakota language and cultural teachings.
\n\u201cI was born Lakota, but I didn\u2019t feel Lakota,\u201d said Bordeaux. \u201cI didn\u2019t grow up traditionally and all I knew was what my parents and grandparents had taught me. I saw this program as a chance to put all of those different puzzle pieces together.\u201d
\nLaunched in spring of 2022 by Sicangu Co, an organization that weaves together cultural and economic revitalization, Lakolya Waoniya\u2019s primary goal is to increase the number of fluent Lakota language speakers, which has reached a crisis level. However, leaders of the program had seen other efforts fail, so they knew they had to try something new.
\nPaying learners isn\u2019t the only thing that is unique about this initiative. Leaders of the program have also integrated cultural knowledge, spiritual well-being, and ceremonies into the program. Students attend weekly sweatlodge ceremonies, seasonal rituals, and those who had not previously been given a Lakota name went through a naming ceremony. \u201cYou can\u2019t have our language without our culture, and you can\u2019t have our culture without our language,\u201d
\nsaid the program\u2019s instructor, Henry Quick Bear, Sr. \u201cWe\u2019re getting to be in a bad spot and it\u2019s really concerning. I hate to say this but one day, we might lose our language.\u201d With fewer than 500 fluent speakers \u2013 the vast majority of
\nwhom are considered elders \u2013 on the Rosebud Reservation and none under the age of 25, the language could go silent for the Sicangu people in a generation. Chauncina Poor Bear is also enrolled in the Lakolya Waoniya
\nprogram. Poor Bear had worked in early childhood education for almost 20 years before joining. Similar to Bordeaux, Poor Bear had a desire to learn the language and grow closer to her culture as well as teaching the language to others after mastering it herself. However, Poor Bear had a different perspective. Both of her parents spoke Lakota, but because of the way they were treated in school, they never taught their children to speak it. Lakota students in boarding schools often received harsh punishments for speaking any language other than English. \u201cAfter the way they were punished in school for speaking Lakota instead of English, they never taught any of us,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cLearning the language has been a spiritual thing for me. The more you know the language, the more it draws you into the culture and that is helping me learn how to heal from all of the trauma that has happened to us before.\u201d Poor Bear worked in the Head Start program on the Rosebud Reservation before and never had the tools to teach language and culture to the students. She sees the Lakolya Waoniya program as a chance for her to bring what she has learned back into the classroom when she is finished. For the learners, the program creates opportunity beyond a deeper connection to their Lakota identity. Becoming a fluent speaker opens doors for their future careers as teachers, mentors, or even translators. Quick Bear said the program is quickly and effectively creating conversational speakers and is gaining attention locally. \u201cOur learners have already been contacted by other programs to come and work with them. It shows how much they have learned in just a year,\u201d he said. In fact, all of the learners have made a commitment to share what they are learning in some form or another with hopes of creating a ripple effect of renewed interest in learning the language. Some learners are already hosting free public classes both in-person and over Zoom. Others will be participating in a summer institute to receive
\ntheir teaching certification. One is even lending his voice to Thor in the Avengers Lakota language dub. \u201cWhen you learn the language, you get a brighter view of our culture and our future,\u201d Quick Bear said. \u201cIt kind of centers us so I think it\u2019s really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Lak\u0307olya Waoniya -\u2018Breathing Life into the Lak\u0307ota Language<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Haylee Quick Bear gathering material to build a tipi. A large part of Lakolya Waoniya\u2019s curriculum is participating in Lakota-based cultural activities. Despite being a high achiever with a stack of college acceptance letters, Natalie Bordeaux felt she needed time for personal reflection before taking the next big step in <\/p>\n

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