Day 2

Middle: The Winter Count is a calendar method of the Lakota, a way to keep track of the events of the year.

Bottom: Meeting with President Tom Short Bull in the board room at Oglala Lakota College

Monday, March 19th, 2018

Oglala Lakota College Historical Center and President; Tour of Pine Ridge Girls School

Today we went to the Oglala Lakota College, and visited the Historical Center. The school had a snow day, but we were fortunate enough to come upon the president of the school, who gave us the keys to the center and allowed us to tour the building as we pleased. Also, he invited us to his board room where we were able to ask questions and learn about the history of the Lakota. Last night, we learned that the Lakota people do not believe in coincidences, everything happens for a reason, so when we met the president of the college, that message resonated with us. After our visit we made our way over to the restaurant to eat lunch and drove over to the Pine Ridge Girls School and Dusty, one of their teachers, gave us a tour of the school, and even shared her personal thoughts in respect to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). At the end of the visit, we gathered in a circle and performed a sage smudge to cleanse our body of any negative energy. Overall, today was a day of realization.

By the Agnes Irwin School, March 19th, 2018

These porcupine quills were harvested from road kill. They were removed, cleaned and separated from the hair.

Here they have been dyed to be used in crafts by the girls and women who abstain from ceremonies during their menses.

These signs are from a march that the students attended to raise awareness for Native women and girls who have been abducted.

This buffalo was a gift from the spiritual leader who advised that the students follow the "individual meditation" process (above) when feeling distressed or distracted.

When the school asked the spiritual leader for help to manage the cabinet doors opening and closing of their own accord, he advised them that they were not tending to their spiritual guardian of the building. Now the spirit has a chair and food offerings each day.

The head of school, Cindy Gallego, is also an artist who has designed the beautiful decorations painted by volunteers around the building.

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