Sinte Gleska University’s Institute of Tribal Lands hosted two sleepover camps this summer designed to teach children about tribal land issues.
Vernon “Ike” Schmidt, Director of the SGU Institute of Tribal Lands, designed the camps with help from Lydia Whirlwind Soldier, who wrote a Land Curriculum that was presented to children at the camps. Forty-six children from the Rosebud Area attended the camps, held in Spring Creek Community, participating in archery, fishing, swimming, Lakota language instruction, biology and environmental science, cultural and spiritual activities, and fun.
Camp counselors included Schmidt, who took students fishing and swimming and directed the camp; Gerald Lang, SGU Environmental Sciences professor, who taught biology and earth-friendly living; Jackie White Bird, resident of Spring Creek and Lakota language instructor, who taught the language component of the camp; Wes Luxon, who taught archery; and Sam High Crane, who taught the spirituality and culture.
Students from nearly every community on the reservation attended the camp, enjoying living outdoors while learning about the land and their responsibility toward Unci Maka.
Lydia Whirlwind Soldier wrote the land curriculum that was taught at the camp, integrating science, Lakota language and values and spirituality with the culture and responsibility Lakota people have toward the land. Sponsored by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, the curriculum addresses the need for the younger generations of Lakota to understand and take care of the earth. The curriculum is available at the SGU Institute of Lands, located behind the SGU Library on the main SGU campus.
The Institute of Tribal Lands partnered with the RST Suicide Prevention Program, Circle of HOpe at St. Francis Mission, The Boys and Girls Club of Rosebud, and Wiconi Wakan to host the camp. The two camps were held June 23-25 and July 26-28. A third camp was planned, but funding was short after unexpected expenses arose from the first two camps.
Schmidt said, “What we want to do is get more young people introduced to the reservation, the culture, the land, the environment and while we are doing that we also want to focus on wellness issues because of the suicide rate and because of diabetes. So, during our camp we had exercises. We had plenty of stuff to keep them moving. We did the curriculum part. Jerry handled the biology and environmental sciences component to it. We used Jackie Whitebird who added a lot of the cultural component, Lakota language. Sam High Crane added a lot of cultural, the songs and the language, the wolakota part.”
Students spent time keeping journals as part of their camp experience, and each day ended with a Talking Circle to discuss the day’s activities and what was learned. Students who had never particpated in cultural activities such as smudging and greeting each other as relatives were given an insight into their culture that they had not seen before.
Schmidt said, “I talked about a lot of historical stuff, how we derived our land base. The first time it was really identified in the 1851 treaty. They started carving and carving to where we are at today. I just wanted to give them a real broad basis and history of lands we had and now what tribal land enterprises is doing to regain our land base.”
Jackie White Bird focused on the Lakota language, teaching children how to greet each other as relatives and how to pray each morning and evening.
The Talking Circle was used to help children learn to talk to each other without conflict, expressing their feelings about suicide, death of family members, what encourages them and what changes they wanted to make.
The camp ended with a buffalo feed using bison meat from the SGU Bison Ranch. Children were awarded t-shirts as well.
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