URL: https://www.indianz.com/News/archives/001100.asp

Monday, July 21, 2003

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader of South Dakota ran the third installment of its yearlong "Progress of a People" on Sunday. Called "Cultures in conflict," the feature examines Indian spirituality and the preservation of other cultural touchstones, including native language and powwows.

Non-Indian participation in Native ceremonies
Should non-Indians be allowed to take part in Native traditions and ceremonies? The question always draws heated responses, like this one, from American Indian Movement leader Clyde Bellecourt: "The Creator has never given such an order," he says of a proclamation by Lakota spiritual leader Arvol Looking Horse against non-Indian involvement. "A lot of medicine people have told me to pay no attention. The songs were not given to Arvol Looking Horse. It is not up to him to say nobody else can use them."

Others say the proclamation was necessary due to abuse and perversion of the sacred. Some end up charging money for ceremonies and to participate in them.

"Some people take advantage of this and kind of prostitute themselves to the European world," says Floyd Hand, an Oglala Lakota medicine man. "It really saddens me."

Get the Story:
One religion, many visions (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 7/20)
Inside the sun dance (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 7/20)

Native languages dying out
According to a recent survey by Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Reservation, only 40 percent of Oglala tribal members could still speak the Lakota language. And only 1 percent of those younger than 18 could.

Statistics like that are the reason tribes are making it a priority to pass on their languages to the next generation. The Yankton and Oglala tribes offer all-Lakota immersion classes while the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe combines Lakota with English in courses.

Many attribute the declining use to attempts by the federal government to stamp out Native languages. Frieda Condon said she was forbidden to speak Lakota at a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school but now teaches it to school children.

"Back in boarding school days, I was taught to be ashamed of who I am, to forget my language, forget my culture, forget my relatives, forget my parents," she says. "Everything that was me was taken away. But they never really took it away from me. It's always been in here. Now I can bring it out and be happy with my identity, who I am."

Get the Story:
Tribes struggle to preserve language (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 7/20)
'Everything that was me was taken away' (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 7/20)
'I'm home, and I feel happy ... a sense of calm' (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 7/20)

Preserving Native culture
Pow-wows are a popular way for many to pass on their culture and traditions. But some say that it's only part of the picture.

"An iceberg has 10 percent of its volume above the water," says Badger Wahwasuck, former chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas. "In our whole culture, this is that 10 percent."

Modern pow-wows have their critics. Like AIM activist Russell Means, who says they a perversion of traditional Plains culture. "It's a sideshow now," he says. "The dancers are painting themselves up to look like KISS, and they're dressing up like clowns. To me, it's embarrassing."

Get the Story:
POWWOW (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 7/20)

All stories in the Indianz.Com Archive are available for publishing under a Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)