SUPPORTERS & DONORS

All contributions will pay for my project expenses such as Zoom subscriptions, supplies, equipment, and labor to support at no cost Lakota language lessons to my community!

MY STORY

Hau mitakuyapi

I am Eugene Black Crow. I am an Oglala Lakhota.

I grew up speaking Lakhota with my family until I was six years old. I then attended boarding school in Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota where I learned English. After high school, I attended Black Hills State College and tested out of Lakhota Language 2 because I was fluent in the language.

Since college, I have been active in practicing and teaching my language, to immediate family members, and other tribal members of different ages across the reservation. I realized many of my generation are too shy or discouraged to speak or teach the younger generations because of the Boarding school era. This led to relatives asking me to teach the language to keep it alive. Aspiring teachers are also seeking my help because they are beginning to teach Lakhota in elementary schools and they want to be able to speak and pass it on to their students.

In the Fall of 2018, I volunteered at the Lakhota Waldorf School, where they hired me in 2020. Due to the pandemic, I was an online tutor (10 students a week) to help students learn the language. Now, I currently assist students, teachers, and parents in my own time. This work and my passion for preserving the Lakhota language are the catalysts for the next iteration of my dream–The Lakhota Woglakapo Project.

I hope you can join me in this effort!

Wopila tanka,
Eugene BlackCrow
Project Leader & Founder
Lakhota Woglakapo Project of IPD Philly's Incubating Program

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EMAIL ME AT
lakhotawoglakapo@ipdphilly.org

Follow on Facebook
@LakhotaWoglakapoProject

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ARE YOU LAKHOTA?
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN LEARNING AND PRACTICING OUR LANGUAGE?

I am currently offering private sessions of 15 - 30 minutes per week for the duration of 1 to 6 months per student.

If interested, please send me an email to be considered for an interview. The email must include your contact information (name, phone, and email), your Lakhota language level, and a brief bio about yourself.

(Noted these lessons are for the Lakhota community only)

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FOR INQUIRIES ON PRIVATE TUTORING LESSONS FOR OTHER INDIVIDUALS OR INSTITUTIONS:

Let's talk - just send me an email, with your information, or buy a ticket for Four 15-minute or 20-30-minute private tutoring Lakhota Sessions. After purchasing a ticket you will receive information on how to schedule each of the four sessions with me.

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ABOUT THE PROJECT

The Lakhota Woglakapo Project is a language revitalization project to teach the Lakhota language, strengthen cultural identity, and create opportunities for intergenerational learning and kinship. Due to the traumas inflicted on the Lakhota people over centuries, the Pine Ridge Reservation is among the poorest counties in the country, with the lowest life expectancy and the lowest per capita income. Our Tribal government has the enormous challenge of addressing these and many other challenges our people face. With so much immediate work that needs to be done, there is little bandwidth or resources left to invest in language preservation.

However, language preservation is gravely important because the Native language is how each tribe’s stories, beliefs, worldviews, and political ideas are passed on (Cherrington, 2010). Many Native American words or phrases cannot be translated 100% into English; without them, critical pieces of our histories, traditions, and way of life will be lost. Therefore, it is critical that we engage in language preservation and revitalization efforts to expand our knowledge of the Lakhota language and cultural wisdom. Furthermore, Western research has most recently shown that a strong connection to culture, including the ability to speak one’s Native language, is a strong protective factor in improving health and wellness for Indigenous people–a fact long known to Native communities.

The project will serve Tribal members from any of the Lakhota Tribes residing within South Dakota and North Dakota. Additionally, with the beauty of technology, we are also able to serve Tribal members who are residing off-reservation or in urban centers across the country. Through the Lakhota Woglakapo project, I will carry out the following activities:

— Virtual Tutoring Sessions

Private tutoring sessions will be offered to all interested Tribal members at no cost. Each session will run for 15-30 min and will take place virtually by phone or via Zoom, depending on the participant’s preference. Each participant can sign up, up to two times per week, according to their schedules and availability. I will advertise these sessions through existing community networks and through School teachers I know. I will make efforts to ensure that youth/adults interested in learning Lakhota, but who live off the reservation are aware and able to participate.

— For Educators/Parents

There is a demand from today’s teachers to teach the language to our youth and rebuild a generation of native Lakhota speakers. However, the majority of those teachers are not native speakers themselves. In addition to building language skills and conversational practice, sessions with educators/parents will include skills to improve their ability to teach language.

As an Elder of my tribe, it is of utmost importance to be able to teach and use the language of our ancestors as it is a crucial piece of keeping our culture alive. Language is not only a means of communication to each other, it is our way of life, our culture, and preserving it now means our culture will continue to be passed down to our descendants.

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Header image containing: Portrait of Eugene Black Crow and featuring ledger art by Dwayne Wilcox titled Selfie, 2016.

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The Lakhota Woglakapo Project is a fiscally sponsored project of
Indigenous Peoples Day Philly Inc. / Incubating Program
To learn more visit IPD Philly's Incubating Program

Declaration: Indigenous Peoples Day Philly Inc. (IPD PHILLY) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization (FEIN: 84-1889208). Gifts to IPD PHILLY are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by Law. Please consult your tax advisor for further information.

This fundraiser is organized from the Lenape-Unami territory of Lenapehoking | the U.S.A on Indigenous Land

Support or Join the Lakhota Woglakapo Project

Offering free tutoring lessons for the Lakhota community by Eugene Black Crow ++++ This is a fiscally sponsored project by IPD PHILLY

Team Members