North Dakota North Dakota Native American Essential Understanding number seven is about Native identity. It states, "Individual and communal identity is defined and supported by shared Native languages, kinship systems, Tiospaye, clan structures, traditional teachings, values, sacred laws, and ceremonies. A continuum of tribal identity, unique to each individual, ranges from assimilated to traditional lifestyle. There is no generic American Indian."
In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll be listening to Oliver Gourd, enrolled member of Spirit Lake Nation, talking about two types of education.
Oliver Gourd:
There's a Wasi'chu, then there's a Indian. I grew up both ways, bilingually, all my life. And then I, too, went to California and I graduated with [foreign language 00:01:02]. The boarding school during the week to California. Cal State had 26,000 students and my major was Business Administration, Marketing. Now I'm teaching Dakota language, so just the opposite.
I was telling one of these people one time, this guy had this doctorate degree, and I said, "There's two education." I said, "There's Wasi'chu, and that's good. We need that in today's world. But there's the Lakota way, too, the language. So you know the language, that's good." And if you go to ceremonies or sweats, and if you're a sun dancer, if you're a pipe carrier, if you're a healer, if you're a singer, and if you know the medicines, the herbs, all that kind of stuff, history.
I said, "If you went to that university," I said, "and told them what you know." He said, "You'd be the only one that knows." I said, "Well, what do you know at that university?" He said, "In the Wasi'chu world, when somebody just knows something up here, dude, they give him all kinds of initials behind their name." I said, "You go tell him." I said, "Maybe they'll give you a bunch behind yours."
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If you'd like to learn more about the North Dakota Native American essential understandings, and to listen to more Indigenous elder interviews, visit teachingsofourelders.org.
