{"id":36412,"date":"2023-08-19T04:07:05","date_gmt":"2023-08-19T09:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/the-school-that-i-needed\/"},"modified":"2023-08-19T04:07:08","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T09:07:08","slug":"the-school-that-i-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/the-school-that-i-needed\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The school that I needed\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With the smell of burning sage in the air, students at Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Wounspe Ti gather around the drum for their morning song. For these students, practicing Lakota traditions and speaking their ancestral language is the norm. Whether they know it or not, they are at the forefront of a growing movement to revitalize Indigenous languages.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI wanted to create the school that I needed when I was a student,\u201d said Sage Fast Dog, the school\u2019s founder and director. \u201cI wanted a school that recognized me as Lakota and didn\u2019t see my skin color as a roadblock to my intelligence. We\u2019ve worked really hard to create that space for these Wakanyeja, and it\u2019s good medicine for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now beginning its fourth year, Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Wounspe Ti (Children First Learning Center) has over 30 students in kindergarten through third grade who are taught primarily in Lakota.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The school is guided by four pillars: language fluency, strengthening Indigenous identity, holistic wellness, and academic excellence. Fast Dog pointed out the dramatic difference between Lakota students\u2019 experiences in public schools and the new immersion program.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen I was in school, it wasn\u2019t a very healing place. There wasn\u2019t a focus on the Lakota language and it wasn\u2019t student-centered. If we didn\u2019t read something correctly, we got slapped on the hand,\u201d he said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t help me read better but that is what the educational system allowed at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior to the school\u2019s opening in 2020, Fast Dog spent years planning every detail of the school\u2019s operational plan. He is well-aware that there are only a handful of Lakota speakers under the age of 30, and felt the urgency to start a school that would create lifelong language learners. He said the success of this school will help preserve the Lakota language and culture for generations.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Beyond teaching students how to speak Lakota, the students also learn their history and take pride in their culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cIf we can get our kids to be secure in who they are when they come in the door, and we help with their coping skills, we help them with their full emotional development,\u00a0then they have a greater chance of graduating from high school and being career ready,\u201d Fast Dog said. He added that holistic wellness is the key to success academically and in life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Students aren\u2019t the only ones on a learning journey. Teachers in the immersion program learn alongside the students with fluent speakers as mentors and monitors in the classrooms. Carm Shouldis is a teacher at the school and Leland Little Dog works with her in the immersion classes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Shouldis developed a love for teaching and the language through her work in the program.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cI never wanted to be a teacher just because I have had bad experiences as a kid,\u201d she said. \u201cI remember in college being asked to take a language class and I was totally against it because I didn\u2019t see the value at the time. It wasn\u2019t until my friends started taking the Lakota language class and then I learned more about the culture at college where I realized, \u2018Oh, wow, this is who I am.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She said she spent two years with Teach for America in a public school and that experience only made her more interested in working with children in the immersion program.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Since she wasn\u2019t fluent in Lakota yet, she started working with Little Dog to prepare her lessons in Lakota.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cI would write lessons in English on the right side of the paper. And then Leland\u00a0would write on the left side of the paper, all in Lakota. And then I would read off of my paper, and I\u2019d have the English there so I could remember,\u201d she said. \u201dEventually, I didn\u2019t need to use the paper anymore. And then even in small talk, I was able to speak more with Leland and I think that\u2019s actually what helped me become conversational.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Little Dog grew up speaking Lakota and is excited to work in a program that promotes the language with young students.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cOur language has been taught for 40 years without success, because it was just about nouns and names and colors and the lessons weren\u2019t conversational,\u201d Little Dog said. \u201cSo here we\u2019re teaching immersive, conversational Lakota, which is very different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Dog said many people assume that, because the teachers speak Lakota so well, they have been learning the language for years, but that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cThat is what is so unique about this school. Some of the staff have only been learning for two or three years\u201d he said. \u201cBut they\u2019re still able to teach very well so I think that\u2019s a really impressive aspect of the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Brian Dillon who has two grandchildren in the immersion school said he can see a big difference between this school and public schools.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cThe staff members are really there for the kids. You can tell,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can tell that they\u2019re not just there for a paycheck. I take my grandson to school, and when he gets there in the morning, they\u2019re singing a song. They\u2019re smudging to have a good day. They are learning a different form of respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more information, contact:<\/p>\n

Jillian Waln jillian@sicangu.co<\/a> \u2013 or 480-938-4554<\/p>\n

The post \u2018The school that I needed\u2019<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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With the smell of burning sage in the air, students at Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Wounspe Ti gather around the drum for their morning song. For these students, practicing Lakota traditions and speaking their ancestral language is the norm. Whether they know it or not, they are at the forefront of a <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> August 19, 2023<\/p>\n

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