LAKOTA DOCUMENTARIES
Don Moccasin (1948-2009) was born into the Aske tiyospaye (Wrapped Braids family) and was an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe of South Dakota. He was an active participant in Lakota culture as a fluent speaker, dancer, singer, teacher, and Sundancer.
Don Moccasin started documenting people’s stories and community and family events in the mid 1990’s. Don’s passion for documenting all around him developed into the Lakota Elder Documentary Project in 2000. The project was located at the Sicangu Heritage Center, but it was moved to the Great Plains Art Institute in 2008. Don directed the project until his death in 2009. In 2007, Dr. Jurgita Antoine joined Don’s project and started directing the translation work. In 2008 Jim Cortez started his work at Sinte Gleska University in the Media Deptartment and he and Don became good friends. Before he passed on, Don entrusted Jim with helping to preserve his vast archive of video footage.
Today, Don’s collection belongs to Sinte Gleska University, and Margaret McKichan, Don’s wife, with daughter Jemma Moccasin, have been patrons of the collection.
In Don’s vision of education, the knowledge of family relationships and family histories played the center role. In his own words, “I started this project in 2000 because I wanted to record information on how to be Lakota. I wanted to keep the histories and stories, family trees and genealogies. I want the children to know who their relatives are.” Also, he understood that the real history of Lakota people resided in the communities with community elders. Thus Don recorded elders’ stories and histories. “I want young children to know stories and histories of their parents and grandparents. We need to strengthen the oyate through education and through the university,” said Don Moccasin. Don worked to preserve the elders’ knowledge for the Sicangu children and future generations.
In 2007, working with anthropologist Dr. Jurgita Antoine, Don started a new stage of his project - translation of his video-tape collection into English. The process contains three stages: transcription of Lakota text, translation of the text into English, and the final editing of the texts. Due to the oral nature of the language, highly contextual meaning variations (indexing), and lack of trained fluent speakers, translation is a slow and lengthy process. Today, about 150 hours of recording time have been digitized, about half – transcribed, and one-third - translated. The recordings tell stories of Sicangu Lakota individuals, families, and communities, e.g., tiyospaye (extended family) connections, early life on the reservation, women’s roles and child-rearing practices, and individual life experiences.
Don had a sincere interest in his native Lakota language and passing it to the next generation. When he started teaching language classes for Lakota Studies in 2008, one of the first projects of the class was to name objects in the building in Lakota. Today, there are handwritten signs “janjan” on the window or “tiyopa” on the door. Most of Don’s interviews, when the interviewee was a fluent speaker of Lakota, are conducted in Lakota. Don hoped that his work would contribute to language preservation and help young people learn it and use it.
Lakota Documentaries is the first cultural documentation project designed and implemented by a Lakota person on the Rosebud Reservation. Don’s work is unique in the sense that these are the recordings of Native people made by a Native person. Linguistic anthropology has recognized that the quality of a story depends on the relationship between the speaker and the listener and the story is shaped according to the perceived level of the listener's understanding. Don was a fluent Lakota speaker, born and raised on the Rosebud Reservation, and thus many of his interviewees were his friends and relatives. Also, Don’s kind-heartedness and a sincere belief in his project allowed the interviews to maintain the tone of a friendly conversation between relatives, the uniqueness of Lakota voice and expression, and the complexity of the story.
Contact:
Lakota Documentaries
Great Plains Art Institute
P. O. Box 105
Mission, SD 57555
Phone: (605)856-8171 or (605)856-8123
Fax: (605)856-5491
Email: jurgita.antoine@sintegleska.edu
Don Moccasin started documenting people’s stories and community and family events in the mid 1990’s. Don’s passion for documenting all around him developed into the Lakota Elder Documentary Project in 2000. The project was located at the Sicangu Heritage Center, but it was moved to the Great Plains Art Institute in 2008. Don directed the project until his death in 2009. In 2007, Dr. Jurgita Antoine joined Don’s project and started directing the translation work. In 2008 Jim Cortez started his work at Sinte Gleska University in the Media Deptartment and he and Don became good friends. Before he passed on, Don entrusted Jim with helping to preserve his vast archive of video footage.
Today, Don’s collection belongs to Sinte Gleska University, and Margaret McKichan, Don’s wife, with daughter Jemma Moccasin, have been patrons of the collection.
In Don’s vision of education, the knowledge of family relationships and family histories played the center role. In his own words, “I started this project in 2000 because I wanted to record information on how to be Lakota. I wanted to keep the histories and stories, family trees and genealogies. I want the children to know who their relatives are.” Also, he understood that the real history of Lakota people resided in the communities with community elders. Thus Don recorded elders’ stories and histories. “I want young children to know stories and histories of their parents and grandparents. We need to strengthen the oyate through education and through the university,” said Don Moccasin. Don worked to preserve the elders’ knowledge for the Sicangu children and future generations.
In 2007, working with anthropologist Dr. Jurgita Antoine, Don started a new stage of his project - translation of his video-tape collection into English. The process contains three stages: transcription of Lakota text, translation of the text into English, and the final editing of the texts. Due to the oral nature of the language, highly contextual meaning variations (indexing), and lack of trained fluent speakers, translation is a slow and lengthy process. Today, about 150 hours of recording time have been digitized, about half – transcribed, and one-third - translated. The recordings tell stories of Sicangu Lakota individuals, families, and communities, e.g., tiyospaye (extended family) connections, early life on the reservation, women’s roles and child-rearing practices, and individual life experiences.
Don had a sincere interest in his native Lakota language and passing it to the next generation. When he started teaching language classes for Lakota Studies in 2008, one of the first projects of the class was to name objects in the building in Lakota. Today, there are handwritten signs “janjan” on the window or “tiyopa” on the door. Most of Don’s interviews, when the interviewee was a fluent speaker of Lakota, are conducted in Lakota. Don hoped that his work would contribute to language preservation and help young people learn it and use it.
Lakota Documentaries is the first cultural documentation project designed and implemented by a Lakota person on the Rosebud Reservation. Don’s work is unique in the sense that these are the recordings of Native people made by a Native person. Linguistic anthropology has recognized that the quality of a story depends on the relationship between the speaker and the listener and the story is shaped according to the perceived level of the listener's understanding. Don was a fluent Lakota speaker, born and raised on the Rosebud Reservation, and thus many of his interviewees were his friends and relatives. Also, Don’s kind-heartedness and a sincere belief in his project allowed the interviews to maintain the tone of a friendly conversation between relatives, the uniqueness of Lakota voice and expression, and the complexity of the story.
Contact:
Lakota Documentaries
Great Plains Art Institute
P. O. Box 105
Mission, SD 57555
Phone: (605)856-8171 or (605)856-8123
Fax: (605)856-5491
Email: jurgita.antoine@sintegleska.edu
project staff:
Jurgita Antoine, project director
Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, 2008
Dr. Antoine joined Lakota Documentaries in 2007 to work in the areas of fundraising and translation. For her dissertation research, she worked with Lakota Studies Department to translate and analyze Lakota song collections from the early 1900’s. Currently she directs translations of Lakota oral narratives and production of educational materials. Her community work and scholarly contributions have been recognized by various organizations and foundations including the HansRausing Endangered Language Documentation Project, American Philosophical Society, andAltrusa International.
Lavina Milk, elder and Dakota/Lakota fluent speaker, chief translator
A.A.General Studies, Sinte Gleska University
A.A. General Studies, Black Hills State University
Mrs. Milk grew up in the community of Ideal, and was not exposed to the English language until the age of thirteen. She taught Lakota language at Winner School District and Sinte GleskaUniversity, and worked for Community Connections in Winner for almost 10 years. She is active in community and family events and spends time with her grandchildren. At Lakota Documentaries, Mrs. Milk translates texts from Lakota into English and edits them.
Ronald Bone Shirt, Dakota/Lakota fluent speaker, Lakota transcripts and editing
Student, Lakota Studies, Sinte Gleska University
Mr. Bone Shirt is a grandson of Sinte Gleska University’s founder Stanley Red Bird, Sr. He comes from a Lakota-speaking family in Spring Creek community. Ron is a traditional singer, andhe also instructs children in Lakota ways in his family. He joined Lakota Documentaries in 2009 and specializes in Lakota text production. He transcribes Lakota video recordings and edits the transcripts.
Harold Charging Hawk, Lakota fluent speaker, Lakota transcripts and translation
B.A. Lakota Language/Teaching, Sinte Gleska University, 2009
Mr. Charging Hawk is a fluent Lakota speaker and teacher from Red Leaf community. Lakota is his first language. He learned English at the Norris Elementary School. Harold was interested in his uncle Don’s work and started transcribing and translating the interviews in the spring of 2008. Harold’s work set a high standard for the transcripts and translations. He currently lives teaches Lakota language at St. Francis Indian School.
Kamile Maciulaityte, volunteer, data entry
M.A. American Indian Studies, Leiden University, 2012
Ms. Maciulaityte joined the project team in the fall of 2010. Her main duties have been typing up hand-written Lakota texts. While working for Lakota Documentaries, she started learning Lakota language, learned about reservation life, and completed her M.A. in American Indian Studies at Leiden University. Ms. Maciulaityte was able to do work for the project with the help of modern communication technologies, such as Skype, during her residencies in various countries, such as Lithuania, Holland, and Chile.
Mary Sue Walking Eagle, Lakota fluent speaker, editing
B.S. Early Childhood Education, Sinte Gleska University
Mrs. Walking Eagle comes from the Red Bird tiyospaye from Spring Creek. She has worked as a teacher, director of the Department of Disability Services in St. Francis, and translator at the tribal court. She admits that nothing brought to her as much education as her children and grandchildren. At Lakota Documentaries, Mrs. Walking Eagle is an advisor on cultural matters and text editing.
Jim Cortez, Media Director
jim.cortez@sintegleska.edu
Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, 2008
Dr. Antoine joined Lakota Documentaries in 2007 to work in the areas of fundraising and translation. For her dissertation research, she worked with Lakota Studies Department to translate and analyze Lakota song collections from the early 1900’s. Currently she directs translations of Lakota oral narratives and production of educational materials. Her community work and scholarly contributions have been recognized by various organizations and foundations including the HansRausing Endangered Language Documentation Project, American Philosophical Society, andAltrusa International.
Lavina Milk, elder and Dakota/Lakota fluent speaker, chief translator
A.A.General Studies, Sinte Gleska University
A.A. General Studies, Black Hills State University
Mrs. Milk grew up in the community of Ideal, and was not exposed to the English language until the age of thirteen. She taught Lakota language at Winner School District and Sinte GleskaUniversity, and worked for Community Connections in Winner for almost 10 years. She is active in community and family events and spends time with her grandchildren. At Lakota Documentaries, Mrs. Milk translates texts from Lakota into English and edits them.
Ronald Bone Shirt, Dakota/Lakota fluent speaker, Lakota transcripts and editing
Student, Lakota Studies, Sinte Gleska University
Mr. Bone Shirt is a grandson of Sinte Gleska University’s founder Stanley Red Bird, Sr. He comes from a Lakota-speaking family in Spring Creek community. Ron is a traditional singer, andhe also instructs children in Lakota ways in his family. He joined Lakota Documentaries in 2009 and specializes in Lakota text production. He transcribes Lakota video recordings and edits the transcripts.
Harold Charging Hawk, Lakota fluent speaker, Lakota transcripts and translation
B.A. Lakota Language/Teaching, Sinte Gleska University, 2009
Mr. Charging Hawk is a fluent Lakota speaker and teacher from Red Leaf community. Lakota is his first language. He learned English at the Norris Elementary School. Harold was interested in his uncle Don’s work and started transcribing and translating the interviews in the spring of 2008. Harold’s work set a high standard for the transcripts and translations. He currently lives teaches Lakota language at St. Francis Indian School.
Kamile Maciulaityte, volunteer, data entry
M.A. American Indian Studies, Leiden University, 2012
Ms. Maciulaityte joined the project team in the fall of 2010. Her main duties have been typing up hand-written Lakota texts. While working for Lakota Documentaries, she started learning Lakota language, learned about reservation life, and completed her M.A. in American Indian Studies at Leiden University. Ms. Maciulaityte was able to do work for the project with the help of modern communication technologies, such as Skype, during her residencies in various countries, such as Lithuania, Holland, and Chile.
Mary Sue Walking Eagle, Lakota fluent speaker, editing
B.S. Early Childhood Education, Sinte Gleska University
Mrs. Walking Eagle comes from the Red Bird tiyospaye from Spring Creek. She has worked as a teacher, director of the Department of Disability Services in St. Francis, and translator at the tribal court. She admits that nothing brought to her as much education as her children and grandchildren. At Lakota Documentaries, Mrs. Walking Eagle is an advisor on cultural matters and text editing.
Jim Cortez, Media Director
jim.cortez@sintegleska.edu
Jurgita Antoine
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Don Moccasin/Harold Charging Hawk
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Ron Bone Shirt/Mary Sue Walking Eagle
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Lavina Milk
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SAMPLE VIDEO:
We are constantly looking for more stories, translators, and cultural consultants as well as funding, grants, and donations to keep this project going. It takes many hours to digitize the video, translate and transcribe the language, edit and add text to the video, and to create dvds of this important historical footage.
If you would like to share your stories or view the ones that Don has recorded, please feel free to contact us, or just stop by to visit and enjoy the Lakota Language!
Soon we will have a way for our friends to donate right here on this website. Until then, please help spread the word by becoming our ‘‘Kola” (‘‘friend”) and joining our mailing list. That way you will be notified by email when we add new content to the site, and as to the progress of the project.
Please also join us on FACEBOOK and share our page with your friends. “Wopila” (“Thank You”)
To join our mailing list simply click HERE.
If you would like to share your stories or view the ones that Don has recorded, please feel free to contact us, or just stop by to visit and enjoy the Lakota Language!
Soon we will have a way for our friends to donate right here on this website. Until then, please help spread the word by becoming our ‘‘Kola” (‘‘friend”) and joining our mailing list. That way you will be notified by email when we add new content to the site, and as to the progress of the project.
Please also join us on FACEBOOK and share our page with your friends. “Wopila” (“Thank You”)
To join our mailing list simply click HERE.
