{"id":36477,"date":"2023-09-12T18:09:21","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T23:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/family-engagement-leads-to-lakota-lessons-outside-the-classroom\/"},"modified":"2023-09-12T18:09:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T23:09:23","slug":"family-engagement-leads-to-lakota-lessons-outside-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/family-engagement-leads-to-lakota-lessons-outside-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Family engagement leads to Lakota lessons outside the classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Leland Little Dog is a fluent Lakota speaker and knowledge keeper, and plays a key role in the kinship dynamic that is integrated into the school curriculum and operations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

ROSEBUD \u2013 A school on the Rosebud Reservation delivers a family-centered educational experience aimed at revitalizing the Lakota language and culture<\/p>\n

Tears streamed down Janice Dillon\u2019s face as she watched the Lakota Language Bowl. Her grandchildren and their classmates at Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Wounspe Ti, a Lakota immersion elementary school on the Rosebud Reservation, had just taken four of the top five spots in the Language Bowl at the Lakota Nation Invitational in Rapid City.<\/p>\n

Dillon\u2019s tears flowed from pride not only in their progress as students, but also from her realization of what young students learning the language will mean to the future of the Lakota language and culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually cried seeing how well our children performed in the competition. Being so little and going up against kids who are a couple of grades older than them in different schools,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was great seeing how much they knew and how well they did in the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Wounspe Ti (Children First Learning Center) is the only full Lakota language immersion school on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Now beginning its fourth year, the school is making strides with students and creating positive effects beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n

Communication between the school and parents goes far beyond emails and phone calls. In addition to parent nights and language classes for the entire family, the teachers have also done home visits to get to know the students\u2019 families and build stronger relationships.<\/p>\n

Brian and Janice Dillon have two grandchildren who attend classes at Wak\u0307a\u014byeja Ki T\u0307okeyah\u0307c\u0304i and they couldn\u2019t be happier about the educational, linguistic, and cultural growth they see in their grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Janice said her grandson is in his third year at the school. Last year, when his sister was still in Head Start, he would come home from the immersion school and teach his little sister the lessons he was learning in class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were playing back and forth and she wanted a toy,\u201d Janice said. \u201cAnd he was telling her to take the toy and then he was telling her to give it back to him. But he was doing it in Lakota and she was saying it after him. That was kind of a moment for me that hit me; with him teaching his sister like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the lessons coming home weren\u2019t reserved solely for his little sister. Brian grew up with grandparents who spoke Lakota but they didn\u2019t teach him the language. Unlike his grandparents, Brian\u2019s grandson is bringing Lakota lessons home to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a role reversal,\u201d Brian said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit different to have a child teaching me because I\u2019m 53 years old, but it\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founding Director of the School Sage Fast Dog said that those interactions were created intentionally when the curriculum was designed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to create the school I needed when I was going to school,\u201d Fast Dog said. \u201cI wanted a school that recognized me as a Lakota and didn\u2019t see my skin color as a roadblock to my intelligence. We also really wanted to empower families to take ownership of their student\u2019s education and provide them with the resources to make sure learning continues in the home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian said they could see right away that this new school was different, not just in the lessons but in the behavior of the students and staff. In traditional Lakota style, his grandson wears long hair in a braid. At his preschool, he was called names and bullied for his appearance, despite being in a Native community.<\/p>\n

At Wak\u0307a\u014byeja Ki T\u0307okeyah\u0307c\u0304i, his looks and his culture are recognized as a positive, not a reason for being mocked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want children to learn from a Lakota perspective \u2013 the virtues, generosity, compassion, those kinds of things,\u201d Brian said. \u201cSince he\u2019s been at the school, we\u2019ve never had situations like that (the past mistreatment).\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian said those differences in how Lakota children are seen and taught extend beyond lessons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s due to learning the language and the immersion in Lakota culture, or if it\u2019s just the general dynamics of how they present and teach, but it\u2019s more of a family unit orientation, rather than an individual,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\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 can 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

Janice said she expects the school to be successful in many ways, extending beyond just creating Lakota language speakers. She said the atmosphere in the school is conducive to student success in every way.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy four daughters never really wanted to be at school,\u201d she said. \u201cRegardless of what grade it was, they got less and less attentive to it as they got older. But with our grandkids, they generally wake up and want to go to school. It is cute to hear my granddaughter singing a four direction song in the shower while she\u2019s getting ready to go to school. It really makes my heart happy to see them learning and enjoying those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fast Dog said teaching children their language and culture and pride in their Lakota heritage is the main way Wak\u0307a\u014byejaT\u0307okeyah\u0307c\u0304i is different than public schools, even those that may have a population of Lakota students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn public schools, many Lakota kids are taught \u2013 directly or subconsciously \u2013 that being Lakota means they aren\u2019t capable or intelligent,\u201d Fast Dog said. \u201cThat\u2019s how we\u2019re different. We are saying \u2013 and proving \u2013 that is so wrong. Embracing the culture and language will be how we make a real difference on the Rosebud Reservation in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, contact:\u00a0Jillian Waln jillian@sicangu. co<\/a>m \u2013 or 480-938-4554<\/p>\n

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Students from the Wakanyeja Tokeyahci immersion school sing a drum song at a community event. Every day at the school begins with prayer and song.\"\"<\/a> Students at the Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Lakota immersion school participate in after school wellness programming. The school serves grades K-3.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The post Family engagement leads to Lakota lessons outside the classroom<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Leland Little Dog is a fluent Lakota speaker and knowledge keeper, and plays a key role in the kinship dynamic that is integrated into the school curriculum and operations. ROSEBUD \u2013 A school on the Rosebud Reservation delivers a family-centered educational experience aimed at revitalizing the Lakota language and culture <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> September 12, 2023<\/p>\n

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