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GUEST EDITORIAL: Listen Last week, six people left their families and daily lives to fly to South Dakota. To talk. To listen, to learn, to share. To collaborate on how to reverse a growing, detrimental trend in Native languages. And in the process, greater understanding occurred. Partnerships were formed. Hope took one more step forward. Members of the board of directors of the Minnesota-based Sieben Foundation arrived at Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation not just with open ears but open hearts, asking questions and seeking answers on how together they can walk hand-in-hand—in partnership—with the school to turn the tide on Lakota language loss. In research conducted by the University of California-Los Angeles Language Materials Project, it was estimated that there are about 6,000 fluent speakers of the Lakota language today, and the language is in severe danger of becoming extinct. This is evidenced by trends documented by this project, which are that in the early 1990s, only about half of the population of the Pine Ridge Reservation could speak the language. Today, that number has fallen to less than one-quarter of the population on the Pine Ridge, and is as low as 4 percent on other Lakota reservations. As an employee of Red Cloud and a young Lakota woman, it was an honor and privilege to sit in and to be part of the discussions, in the simple generation of ideas that brings the Sieben Foundation and Red Cloud together closer as true collaborators. Because while the program at Red Cloud will take necessary dollars to be developed and implemented, this work is deeper than a three-year gift of $300,000 for the program from Sieben. It is about relationships. The inherent need and desire to communicate, both between Native people and amongst people of various cultural backgrounds. And it is this—this need—that left a lasting impression on me. Here, sitting equally around a table, were people very different from each other, bringing their own perspective, culture and history for the “good of the cause.” Here, there were people truly caring about the sustainability and growth of Native American people. Here, people were not only informed—but were craving more knowledge. Here, people came and witnessed firsthand the shattering of stereotypes. “The work happening at Red Cloud and on the Pine Ridge Reservation is unprecedented,” said Karen Rauenhorst, president of the Sieben Foundation. “To see it in action is inspiring.” “We want to learn from you, and with you,” said Philip Goldman, another representative at the foundation. “That’s why we’re here.” And for myself, a product of both a Red Cloud and Native education, preservation of the Lakota language—my language—must be a reality for the Pine Ridge. We are proud of our culture, which would not exist without our language. I am grateful to the Sieben Foundation, and all those individuals and organizations that have already stepped up to say: “I want to be part of something important. Something good. Something that will make a difference.” It means a tremendous amount to me that Karen, Philip, and the representatives from Sieben took the time to travel to the reservation, to be present, and most importantly, to have listened. Because it is only when we listen—really listen—that we can understand. And through understanding comes education, which must be at the heart of making a dent in language preservation. Robbie Pipe On Head is the Web and Communications Specialist at Red Cloud Indian School. 1 UCLA Language Materials Project (November 29, 2006). “Lakota.” Accessed February 22, 2007, at http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=3&menu=004. It should be noted that this site also references that the total Lakota population (in the US and Canada) is about 20,000, while other sources indicate that there are more than 30,000 Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation alone. Therefore, the number of fluent speakers referenced by this site should be considered an estimate.
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