Happy Native American Day

In honor of Native American Day in South Dakota today, I offer these tidbits. The sculpture above stands over the Missouri River at Chamberlain. The sculpture is aptly called "Dignity." The back shows off her beautiful star quilt. At night it is lit and can be seen from the highway bridge across the river below.

To understand more, view this 2.5 minute video of  the sculpture's celebration: 

To hear more from the sculptor and see Dignity from other angles at different times of day, see this 2 minute video. 

And because I can't NOT talk about books, here are a couple of links to books for young people by and about Indigenous peoples: #IndigenousReads by Indigenous Writers and the American Indian Youth Literature Award. 

For an adult poetry read, please see this excerpt from "Whereas" by  Layli Long Soldier, an Oglala Lakota.

For interviews, oral history, and storytelling see the Wolakota Project.

Try learning a little Lakota by watching this Berenstain Bears Halloween clip!


In Lakota, there is no exact word for "goodbye." So I will leave you with Taƞyáƞ máni yo/ye! (Walk well.) Hear it and other farewell variations here.