"A winter count is a pictographic record of historical/memorable events for a tiospaye (community)... used by many Plains Indians, is a method of preserving history. Important events are recorded for future generations."
It's our last full day here on the reservation, at least for now, and we just finished rehearsing for the morning report we're to give tomorrow. I think part of the jitters are: how do we do justice to this?
Anyway, if you happen to have time at 1PM tomorrow, consider tuning in. We'll be featuring panelists (medicine and pediatrics!) who have volunteered their time to give us some insight into how to approach these complex (medically, socially, mentally, culturally, interpersonally) situations.
Earlier this week, we were driving into town when Hannah saw a billboard advertising the Buechel Museum; the web site said it's closed due to COVID, but Hannah called the number to make sure. Several people who work over in St. Francis (one of the twenty communities here) told us that yes, it's technically closed, but they'd be happy to open it for us and give us a guided tour-- just for us because we did the very basic thing of being interested in learning about the Lakota.
Today was the day we scheduled; it was beautiful and 60 degrees out, and St. Francis is right up the road from the hospital. The building looks a little older from the outside, but (surprise!) has the largest collection of Lakota artifacts outside of the Smithsonian.
When we showed up, our friendly guides were heating up the building, sweeping the floors, and dusting for our arrival. And thinking nothing of it.
So essentially, yes, these are a group of people who take time (like three hours) on a beautiful afternoon to educate two total strangers about the teachings and sacred practices of their culture, plus show them this amazing collection of history... and do it so welcomingly. We were by no means expecting this (and tried really hard to ride the line between showing our genuine excitement and being too demanding with our questions/interest) and appreciated it immensely.
We learned about beading and the use of porcupine quills in textiles; we saw elk teeth and head dresses of warrior chiefs whose accomplishments won them dozens of feathers. We heard about earning a Lakota name. The Jesuit priest greeted us, our hosts (Harold and Will) told us about the Mission School, and we learned about winter counts. (Our host invited us to take this picture to share; this is part of a collection that records history from 1786-1968.)
Definitely worth a visit if you're ever around Rosebud or St. Francis, SD. Our hosts told us to invite our friends. :)
When I was nineteen, I decided fairly last minute to take a detour on my educational journey and spend a half-year living and working in El Paso, TX, both with the community and on Fort Bliss/Biggs Air Field as a paramedic. It was one of the most formative experiences of my life to date, to be immersed in culture and community and purpose (both military and otherwise). Rosebud is, of course, completely different than border health and armed forces hierarchy and yet, it makes me reminisce and reflect on the reasons I applied to medical school, stayed in medical school, death marched through residency.
I am so grateful for this experience for so many reasons, that among them.
I bought a Lakota dictionary today-- the weight of it solid and blissfully present, like the language it hopes to keep alive. I learned how to say thank you.
Philámayayapi.
See you at home,
Sharon
