October 26, 2024

Innovation is nothing new in South Dakota, but an ongoing youth project at Maȟpíya Lúta Owáyawa (Red Cloud School) in Pine Ridge has gained national attention after receiving $10,000 from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program as part of its Youth Innovation in Rural America (YIRA) project.

The podcast project, entitled Wóiwahoye Gluótkuŋzapi (Keeping the Promise), is a unique initiative led by students and conducted in the Lakota language. The initiative, which began with its first podcast in the fall of 2023, has since expanded to include the creation of a video series to accompany the podcasts during the current school year.

The goal for this expansion is to extend beyond the podcast’s immediate impact to foster an environment where the Lakota language thrives, creating a legacy for generations to come, said Amanda Carlow, Director of Adult Lakota Language Instruction at Maȟpíya Lúta. The video series shines a light on the dedication and creativity of the student interns involved, who contribute their time and talents to each project while also learning the language themselves.

While classroom language lessons are important, additional opportunities for engagement and immersion are vital in creating fluent speakers. This past summer, student interns conducted a unique initiative as part of their YIRA programming – teaching students basketball using the Lakota language, thus promoting both the language and physical activity.

The project also empowers youth to be agents of change and innovation in their community. This empowerment has not gone unnoticed, Carlow said.

“Even in the project’s inaugural year, the school and community have witnessed the transformative power of student-led initiatives, and the podcast has emerged as a testament to our commitment to linguistic and cultural diversity,” she said. “The content produced is not merely a series of episodes; it is a celebration of the Lakota language, a medium through which our students express their identity, thoughts, and ideas.”

With fewer than 6,000 fluent Lakota speakers remaining, the timing and impact of this program cannot be understated.

This YIRA project is part of the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street exhibition, SPARK! Places of Innovation, a program sponsored by the South Dakota Humanities Council currently touring the state. SDHC is honored to support Maȟpíya Lúta in this innovative project that honors, celebrates, and preserves the beauty of the Lakota language through student empowerment.

For more information about Maȟpíya Lúta’s efforts to revitalize and preserve the Lakota language, and a link to the podcasts, visit https://mahpiyaluta.org/lak%C8%9Fota-language-resource-othi/

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