Interview · South Dakota · April Fallis · OSEU 4
Themes: Language & revitalization, Kinship & family, Values & generosity, Community & responsibility, Listening & observation, Children & young people
Learn About questions
What is a hunka mom?
Why are names like – Nagi Wi “Spirit Woman” – “She who comes back and stands in front of us in a good strong way” given to people?
Learn From questions
Who are some people you see as hunka relatives and why?
Do you have special names given to you other that your birth name? What are some examples?
Transcripts
Intro & Family - April Fallis- OSEU 4
Watch this interview on YouTubeWell, my name is April Fallis, my given name at birth, and I actually had like two names given to me, but the one that was given by my Hunka mother when my mother passed on was Nagi Wi, and that means, it's for short, is Spirit Woman, and there's a long name that comes with that, or where it came from, because what it actually means, what it is, is she who comes back and stands in front of us in a good strong way. So when I asked her, I said, is there a shorter way to say that? Because I said, I can't say all that, because it was a long word.
So she said, yeah, she said Nagi Wi, Spirit Woman, so, and you use the language for many different meanings, there's different meanings to it, so that was good for me. I was raised in a country, in the Big Bend community, part of the Fort Thompson, Dakota Sioux, and I was, I lived out there until I turned 18, and went to Fort Thompson, started getting out, got married in 1977, I believe it was, 78.
From that marriage, I have five children, and had struggles, so I went on down the road, and then after that, I got married again, and then had two more children. So I have seven children, I have 29 grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter, so being a total of 30.
Resource text
Learn ABOUT Learn FROM
(deep listening, information) (deep sharing, transformation)
1. What is a hunka mom? 1. Who are some people you see as
2. Why are names like — Nagiwi “Spirit hunka relatives and why?
Woman” — “She who comes back and 2. Do you have special names given to
stands in front of us in a good strong you other than your birth name?
way” given to people? What are some examples?
OSEU 4: INTERVIEW WITH APRIL FALLIS
WoLakota Project
From the current WoLakota source page:
Intro & Family
April Fallis
Transcript
(deep listening, information)
(deep listening, information)
Some indexed text was extracted from scanned material. Check the original source for exact wording and spelling.
Source materials
Supplied transcript document. Text preserved as supplied; spellings and transcription uncertainties have not been corrected.
Additional source transcripts
Intro & Family
Intro & Family - April Fallis - OSEU 4
Well, my name is April Fallis, my given name at birth, and I actually had like two names
given to me, but the one that was given by my Hunka mother when my mother passed
on was Nagi Wi, and that means, it's for short, is Spirit Woman, and there's a long name
that comes with that, or where it came from, because what it actually means, what it is,
is she who comes back and stands in front of us in a good strong way. So when I asked
her, I said, is there a shorter way to say that? Because I said, I can't say all that,
because it was a long word.
So she said, yeah, she said Nagi Wi, Spirit Woman, so, and you use the language for
many different meanings, there's different meanings to it, so that was good for me. I was
raised in a country, in the Big Bend community, part of the Fort Thompson, Dakota
Sioux, and I was, I lived out there until I turned 18, and went to Fort Thompson, started
getting out, got married in 1977, I believe it was, 78.
From that marriage, I have five children, and had struggles, so I went on down the road,
and then after that, I got married again, and then had two more children. So I have
seven children, I have 29 grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter, so being a total
of 30.