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 by being selected for funding in the amount of $10,000 by 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 entirely 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. Amanda Carlow, Director of Adult Lakota Language Instruction at Maȟpíya Lúta, shared that 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 lasting legacy for generations to come.
The video series shines a light on the dedication and creativity of the student interns involved, contributing their time and talents to each project while at the same time learning the Lakota language themselves. With fewer than 6,000 fluent Lakota speakers remaining, the timing and impact of this program cannot be understated.
While the teaching of any language in the classroom is important, additional effort is vital in creating fluent speakers. This past summer, student interns introduced a new and unique component to their YIRA programming: teaching students basketball using the Lakota language. The initiative incorporates the Lakota language into sports while promoting physical activity. In keeping with the task of the exhibition tour, it also empowers youth to be agents of change and innovation in their community…and this empowerment has not gone unnoticed. Carlow also stated that, “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. 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.“
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 various sites in South Dakota.
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/
