A Continuing Legacy of Lakota Liberation

Healing. Hope. Liberation. We, the Oglala Lakota, have a proud history and come from a long line of freedom fighters and medicine people. We carry forward a legacy of strength, compassion, resistance, and courage. In spite of the numerous attempts by colonizer forces to eradicate our people, our lifeways, and our language, you will find us today, still in our homelands, continuing the battle for liberation and the fight to be who we are -- Lakota. Our enemy is colonization and all of the remnants and vestiges it has left in its wake. We fight for the freedom of our people from oppressive systems through our grassroots, community-led, and inspired vision. This vision has taken form through the work at Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation and the regenerative community we are actively building.

Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation (TVCDC) is a grassroots community organization based in the heart of the Pine Ridge Reservation, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Land, and home to the Oglála Lakȟóta. Our beginnings are rooted in Lakȟóta prayer and ceremony and it is from these humble beginnings that we continue the work, more than a decade later, striving for a liberated Lakȟóta Nation through our language, lifeways, and spirituality.

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For liberation to be realized, we must, individually and collectively, shift our mindsets and worldview to once again think and live Lakȟóta. Each individual must be sovereign, self-determined, and liberated which then extends to the family unit, extended family, and eventually our entire nation. We further understand the first step in our work is awakening. Once we awake, we can heal, and this healing then leads to hope, and ultimately liberation.

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Healing is not something we speak of in the abstract, it is something we systematically and pragmatically work towards by creating healing pathways to liberation.

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The work relies on the creation of cultural shifts in our community -- mindset shifts -- from a poverty mindset to one that is healed, hopeful and liberated.  We are actively taking aim at colonization and the devastating and detrimental effects it has had and continues to have, in our communities. To do so, we take a whole community approach through eight initiatives, supported by our lifeways and wellness equity work, to write our community healing story and transform the social determinants of health impacting our nation.

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The eight initiatives of TVCDC are: Regenerative Community Development (RCD), Lakota Language & Education (LLE), Youth Leadership Development, Workforce Development, Housing & Homeownership, Social Enterprise, Food Sovereignty, and Regional Equity. In this post, we will be focusing on two of our eight initiatives -- RCD and LLE.

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REGENERATIVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

One of our initiatives is the physical expression of sovereignty and liberation through the design and construction of a Regenerative Community Development (RCD).

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We are putting prayer and planning into action and thus providing a vision of hope to our youth and community members with a community they can actually see, feel, touch and experience. Currently, our RCD consists of seven completed single-family homes, all occupied by families, 14 single-family home still under construction, a fully occupied 12-unit apartment building, Community Center and Bunkhouse, 2.5-acre Food Sovereignty Demonstration Farm, with over 300 chickens, and a state-of-the-art Lakȟóta playground that is rooted in our Lakȟóta philosophy of the Ȟesápa (Black Hills) where our sacred sites, ceremonies, and medicines exist. Future development projects include the expansion of a green spine park, commercial hub, Lakota Immersion Montessori School, business incubator, among others.

Though the work of our RCD is the most visible, it is only one component of our whole community approach, and it takes the work and collaboration of the other seven initiatives, and especially our lifeways and wellness equity work, to holistically address the centuries of oppression, colonization, and trauma our people have endured.

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Our work is multi-generational and is deeply rooted in community engagement.

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In fact, one of our strategic priorities is promoting well-being through community engagement. We believe we must meet our community members where they are and invite them, and welcome them, in this liberation journey. Meaningful community engagement promotes well-being because it reaches those on the periphery, the most vulnerable in our communities, that are most in need of resources. Our work through our Regional Equity initiative aims to build equity across our communities first, and one specific example is our Women’s Equity Movement. Traditionally, women were the backbone of Lakota society and this movement strives to empower women to reclaim this vital role in our communities.

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UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY OF OUR HOMELANDS

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A critical part of our journey to liberation is understanding the history of our homelands and how it is directly tied to the decline of our language and lifeways.

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The United States Federal government employed a very successful and effective system of oppression through policy, education, and the theft of our land. Our language is directly connected to the land and our lifeways. Our Lakota educational system since time immemorial has been our lifeways and language. However, from the beginning of reservation days to now, the oppressive systems employed by the federal government have taken our language and lifeways from us.

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The different Federal policy eras, from the Allotment and Assimilation era (1887-1943) to the Termination and Relocation era (1945-1960), and now the current era of Self-Determination, all play an integral part in understanding how federal and parochial education institutions were founded in white supremacy and settler colonialism. The Federal government’s effort to terminate, assimilate and colonize us, as mentioned earlier, was effective but not successful.

Our Oglala people’s battle for liberation started when our reservation was created and has continued throughout the horrific eras to now. At TVCDC, the next chapter in our people’s history has been the reclamation, restoration, and then sustainability of our language and lifeways. In the early 1900’s the education system on the Pine Ridge Reservation consisted of over 30 day schools which were designed to teach the children English.  The U.S. military weaponized education and used it as a tool to try and exterminate our way of life and language.

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These day-schools could be found in nearly every community on the reservation.  Lakota was forbidden to be spoken and the mentality during this time period was to assimilate the Lakota children into white civilization thereby eliminating any trace of Lakota identity.

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Sources around policy eras include: “Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties: An Indian Declaration of Independence” by Vine Deloria Jr., UCLA’s Native American Law Guide: Federal Indian Law & Tribal Law Materials: “In the Courts of the Conqueror” by Walter R. Echo-Hawk.

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THE REAWAKENING OF INDIGENOUS EDUCATION

In the effort to create educational systems that are free of white supremacy, the church, whiteness, and settler colonialism, we are shifting the narrative in Indigenous Education to recognize that our languages and lifeways are, and have always been, our educational system.  TVCDC believes that in order to create a school founded in our language, lifeways, and philosophy, we can not depend on anyone to do it for us.  

We want and desire a place where our children can openly and freely be Lakota in every aspect of their mind, spirit, body, and life. We are doubling down on the liberation of our children. Through our Lakota Language & Education Initiative, our school design is founded on our community’s belief in liberation and healing.

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As we navigate this process of creating a school we have been asking ourselves and our relatives questions like:

• What does learning look like, feel like, smell like through a Lakota perspective?
• If you could radically reimagine education in our homelands what would it look like to you?
• Share a memorable experience when you were a child at your grandparent’s home?

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This process has given the responsibility of how we raise, educate, and liberate our children, families, and community. Currently, our effort to implement Indigenous Education through our language and lifeways is multi-generational and consists of:

• Our language-nest program which is a Lakota Immersion Montessori and Elementary Immersion Program
• Curriculum Development which is designing curriculum through our language and philosophy
• Language Preservation effort, which is recording our elders and fluent speakers
• Our Adult Education programming, which is building the proficiency in language and lifeways amongst our adult population.
  

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HEALING, HOPE AND LIBERATION: A CALL TO ACTION

The most important action we can take is to be good relatives to each other, to Uŋčí Makȟá (Grandmother Earth), and to all living beings. This begins with courageous self-reflection: to free ourselves from colonial institutions, we must recognize and heal from the colonial mindsets we carry within ourselves. In this spirit, while we plan and design our school, much of our work is self-examination, searching deep to see the roots of our beliefs. Building this school is an important stage of our journey in healing, hope, and liberation. It was part of the dream of the generations that came before us, and it will provide guidance to our children for generations to come.

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It is also important to learn about and support Indigenous organizations in your area. This support can come from two places: your mind or your heart. Supporting with your mind is easier, it’s making a donation. This is important, it’s appreciated and it helps us to do our work. But to support with your heart, you have to work to build a connection with this land that has always been our home. This means learning from and about Indigenous peoples, how we traditionally took care of Uŋčí Makȟá, and the growing movement to move past colonial oppression and dismantle white supremacy.

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Our work at Thunder Valley is rooted in the belief that we are all related. We believe that by relearning how to be good relatives, we can liberate ourselves, our thiwáhe (families), our wičhóthi (community), and eventually our entire oyáte (nation). In our language, we address each other using kinship terms. In this way, our language provides the guidance we need.

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Revitalizing our language will strengthen our Wičhóȟʼaŋ (Traditional Lifeways), reinvigorate our kinship system, and guide us on the path of liberation. This is a path we walk with our relatives from other Indigenous Nations, many of whom are building language nests and immersion schools so that their children and their children’s children can grow up speaking their own language, knowing who they are, and healing their relationships with people, with the earth, and with all living beings.

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Stay Connected and up to date:

• www.ThunderValley.org
• www.IyapiGlukinipi.org
• And follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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SUPPORT Indigenous-led schools and movements.

• Anpo Wicahpi Owayawa
• Tusweca Tiospaye
• Generations Indigenous Ways
• Knife Chief Society
• Sitting Bull College Lakȟól’iyapi Wahóȟpi
• Pine Ridge School
• Wakanyeja kin Tokeyachi Wounspe Tipi
• Lower Sioux Indian Community
• Bdote Learning Center
• Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project
• Mukayuhsak Weekuw: 'The Children's House' & Wushkeenune8ak Weekuw: 'Young People's House'
• Keres Children’s Learning Center  
• Enemy Swim Day School
• Wicoie Nandagikendan
• Euchee Language Project
• Friends of the Akwesasne Freedom School
• Hearts Gathered of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation    
• The Hoopa Valley Tribe of California
• Ke Kula 'O Pi'ilani
• Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College
• Kulaniakea  
• Lakota Waldorf School
• Nkwusm Salish Language School
• Ohkay Owingeh
• Oneida Nation
• Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians of Minnesota
• Salish School of Spokane
• Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate
• Waadookodaading
• The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
• Menomini yoU

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About the Authors

Tȟatúye Tópa Nážiŋ Wiŋ (Tatewin Means) is from the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota, Oglala Lakota, and Inhanktonwan nations.

Tatewin received her Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University in Environmental Engineering with a minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. She then went to law school and received her JD with a concentration in Human Rights Law from the University of Minnesota Law School. She returned home once again and completed her Masters of Arts degree in Lakota Leadership and Management from Oglala Lakota College.

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A longtime advocate for human rights, survivors, children, and families, Tatewin Means served as the Attorney General for the Oglala Sioux Tribe in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota from 2012-2017. She is also served as a German Marshall Fund Marshall Memorial Fellow in 2015.

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In 2018, Tatewin sought the Democratic nomination for South Dakota Attorney General—the first-ever Indigenous woman to seek the office of a state Attorney General in the United States. Currently, Tatewin is the Executive Director of Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, an Indigenous non-profit organization in the Pine Ridge Reservation, seeking liberation for Lakota people through language, lifeways, and spirituality.

Ašʼápi (Dallas Nelson) was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation.

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Dallas and his wife Emily Charging Crow-Nelson have four children and reside in the Red Cloud Community. He is the Director of the Lakota Language and Education Initiative at Thunder Valley CDC.

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Dallas received his Bachelor in Sociology & American Indian Studies at Black Hills State University and his Masters of Arts degree in Lakota Leadership and Management at Oglala Lakota College. He serves on the board of the Association of Montessori International (AMI-USA), is part of the Human Rights and Social Justice Committee of AMI-USA, and is a member of the Indigenous Montessori Network which is comprised of Indigenous Montessori’s throughout the nation. Dallas is a longtime advocate for Indigenous Education, Indigenous language reclamation and revitalization, social change, and social justice for all indigenous children and families.