In the midst of the corn harvesting season, food preservation, and the Dakota language use surrounding it, are on the minds of Dakota people.
Members of the Upper Sioux Community and the nonprofit Oyate Nipi Kte (The People Shall Live), gathered on Wednesday, August 25 for a Wamnaheza (Corn) Language Activity Day. This activity was funded by the Upper Sioux Community and it was designed with two purposes in mind. First, it was intended to teach an important food preservation skill in the interest of food security for Dakota People. Second, given Upper Sioux’s commitment to revitalizing the Dakota language, it was also intended to teach the necessary language used to describe the process of preserving corn.
The traditional Dakota food of waskuya, refers to sweet corn that has been husked (yuga), boiled (ohan), shelled (yusku), and dried (pusya). Once it has been dried for winter storage, it is then used to make a favorite corn soup when it is combined with meat and water.
This intergenerational event allowed the fluent speaking elders present, Carrie Schommer and Harry Running Walker, to instruct younger language learners about the process of drying corn while everyone engaged in the act of shelling corn. This type of hands-on instruction is one of the best ways to learn the language as it is not only practical, it also allows for language discussion in a relaxed, laughter-filled environment. Also present were two Dakota language instructors from the University of Minnesota, Neil McKay and Joe Bendickson, as well as U of M language students Autumn Cavender-Wilson, Scott DeMuth vand Monica Siems.
|
|
|
In the midst of the corn harvesting season, food preservation, and the Dakota language use surrounding it, are on the minds of Dakota people.
Members of the Upper Sioux Community and the nonprofit Oyate Nipi Kte (The People Shall Live), gathered on Wednesday, August 25 for a Wamnaheza (Corn) Language Activity Day. This activity was funded by the Upper Sioux Community and it was designed with two purposes in mind. First, it was intended to teach an important food preservation skill in the interest of food security for Dakota People. Second, given Upper Sioux’s commitment to revitalizing the Dakota language, it was also intended to teach the necessary language used to describe the process of preserving corn.
The traditional Dakota food of waskuya, refers to sweet corn that has been husked (yuga), boiled (ohan), shelled (yusku), and dried (pusya). Once it has been dried for winter storage, it is then used to make a favorite corn soup when it is combined with meat and water.
This intergenerational event allowed the fluent speaking elders present, Carrie Schommer and Harry Running Walker, to instruct younger language learners about the process of drying corn while everyone engaged in the act of shelling corn. This type of hands-on instruction is one of the best ways to learn the language as it is not only practical, it also allows for language discussion in a relaxed, laughter-filled environment. Also present were two Dakota language instructors from the University of Minnesota, Neil McKay and Joe Bendickson, as well as U of M language students Autumn Cavender-Wilson, Scott DeMuth vand Monica Siems.
