Monthly Online Program Highlights Lakota Culture and Values
March 9, 2024
Respect, honor, courage, fortitude, generosity, and humility. These traditional Lakota values are the cornerstone for a monthly Lakota cultural and language instruction program produced by Friends of the Children – He Sapa, an independent nonprofit launched in 2022 that works with youth in Rapid City and the Pine Ridge Reservation, and supported by SDHC.
The next session of the online program, titled “Lakota Worldview: The Interrupted Journey,” is scheduled for March 13 at 1 p.m. CT/12 p.m. MT. To join the program, click here.
Richard “Rick” Two Dogs teaches each session. Two Dogs, whose Lakota name is Hmuya Mani (Walks With a Roaring), is a Wakan Iyeska (Interpreter of the Sacred), a respected wisdom keeper, spiritual leader, speaker, and elder of the Oglala Lakota. He has dedicated his life to sharing traditional knowledge to heal Lakota people. Additionally, he has served as an adjunct instructor for Oglala Lakota College, having taught Lakota history, language, philosophy, and traditional plants and foods.
The program, launched in 2023, is open to the public and consists of 13 sessions exploring a variety of topics related to Lakota traditional values. The sessions are designed to encourage cultural identity development among Indigenous youth and families through the instruction of the Lakota language, cultural practices, creativity, and lifeways to promote healing, harmony, and Wolakota (peace/balance) among families and to support the social, emotional, and cultural development of the Wakanyeja (children).
Past sessions, available for viewing online, have included the following titles:
- “Who We Are” (June 2023)
- “Woahope: Traditional Protocol” (July 2023)
- “Wakȟaŋ Wičoȟaŋ Šakowiŋ (7 Sacred Rites of the Oglala Lakota)” (August 2023)
- “Lakota Star Knowledge Part I” (September 2023)
- “Lakota Star Knowledge Part II: A Continuation about Pe Sla and the Spring” (October 2023)
- “The Story of the Bringing of the Canupa (Sacred Pipe)” (November 2023)
- “Lakota World View: Cultural Teachings to Support Waŋi Čokaŋ (Winter Solstice)” (December 2023)
- “Lakota Mental Health: The Mental Health Diagnosis from the Lakota Worldview” (January 2024)
- “Womanhood Ceremony” (February 2024)
Following are the dates and topics/meeting links for the remainder of the series:
- March 13, 12 p.m. MT – Lakota Worldview: The Interrupted Journey
- April 10, 12 p.m. MT – “Wiwayang Wacipi Tawicoyake” (The Teachings of the Sundance)
- May 15, 12 p.m. MT – Cultural Teaching: “Hanblecia”
- June 12, 12 p.m. MT – Cultural Teaching: Conflict Conformation
For more information, contact SDHC at (605) 688-6113.
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