The Lakota Way

Well, I can't believe I only have two and a half weeks left to be in South Dakota! Time has definitely flown by!

We had an awesome group of youth in last week. They were eager and excited to come together to serve, and had awesome opportunities to interact and bless our community. We had two students and one adult leader share their testimonies in front of the group, too!

This past weekend our YW! team got together with three other staff teams in our area to go swimming and cookout. It was great to see old friends and catch up on our summers- God is doing awesome things all throughout South Dakota! We went to a "lake" in Nebraska. It was very different than the lakes I'm used to in Michigan (I think we would have classified this one as a waterhole....haha!). But I enjoyed floating on the intertube across the lake and not getting caught in seaweed ;)

I realized I haven't shared a lot about the Lakota culture, so I thought I would!

First off, the tribe on the Rosebud Reservation is the Sicangu Lakota Sioux. This is pronounced See-chon-goo. The Sioux Nation is divided into three groups: Nakota, Lakota, and Dakota. Each of these groups is further subdivided. The Lakota is separated into seven subcategories, one of which is Sicangu (another example would be the Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Reservation to the West of us). Sicangu means "Burnt Thigh". The origins of this name go back to a time when the Lakota encountered a great prairie fire. In order to get their people through, including the elders and children, they had to run through the fire. Consequently, their thighs were burnt and they saved their people. If you've ever seen the movie "Dances With Wolves," it depicts the Lakota people.

The Lakota place a high priority on family and equality for men and women. The tipi means "they live there". So, technically, our houses are tipis! The tipis were able to be packed up easily to follow the buffalo (tatanka). Our friend Kevin demonstrates archery and stories every week. He tells that the bow and arrow came to the Lakota to symbolize men and women- they work together to provide and protect. Lakota babies are traditionally kept very close to their mothers in cradleboards and the extended family lives together. According to some, the Lakota culture is experiencing a decline, one that is parallel to the decline that we see in our youth today. Many do not hold to traditional Lakota values of close families, values such as courage, wisdom, bravery, sobriety, and native spirituality (rituals such as sundances, etc.)