Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Waniyetu Wowapi, Keeping an Account of the Winter

A view of the new campus developments on the south side of United Tribes.
Waniyetu Wowapi: Winter Count
Keeping An Account Of The Winter
By Dakota Wind
BISMARCK, N.D. - A while back I was invited to United Tribes Technical College by the Theodore Jamerson Elementary School to talk about the Lakota Winter Count.  While I was there, some students in the Media Arts program recorded my program to the kids.  After I broke down the winter count and what it means for our native people, I shared some traditional stories with the children and answered some questions. 

The program was also opened up to the general public and I was delighted not just that the place was packed with the young, but that many of the college students themselves and elders were in attendance.  I made sure to offer the elders a chance to speak and share their stories in relation to the history we covered. 

It was a beautiful experience to be there. The children paid attention the entire time and asked intelligent and thoughtful questions.  I was supposed to have maybe 45 minutes with them, but they were so interested and continued to ask questions we went over an hour and even as they needed to return to class they still had questions. 

Here's a link to the video that the media arts students put together of me with and my winter count program. Its a little short, but it looks pretty good.

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