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WoLakota Project & Teachings of Our Elders

Water Is Life with Aileen Little Ghost

Explore Water Is Life with Aileen Little Ghost with available transcripts, learning questions and source alignments in the South Dakota and North Dakota Elder archive.

Interview · North Dakota · Aileen Little Ghost · NDNAEU 1

Themes: Land & stewardship, Education & learning, Healing & resilience, Food & plants, Arts & expression, Listening & observation, Intergenerational learning

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Learn About questions

Why did people dry foods in the past to keep through winter?  Do people still do this today? Why is water so important to people? What does it mean to say, “Water is life?” Who is Tunkasila?

Learn From questions

What is my experience with drying, canning, or other methods of preserving food? Do I feel connected to a Creator?  Why or why not? Have I ever raised animals for food or planted a garden to grow my own food?  What was it like? Do I see the land as a source for all of my needs?  Why or why not?

Transcripts

04 Aileen Little Ghost: Water is Life

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I draw a lot of foods for survival first of all take it or leave it at point to become a American Indian to become American Indian the elder teaches orally and about war peace healing herbs for peace I said that already survival there’s seven of them and first preserve and I’ll do all that I do the drying of that food we can keep all winter and eat it in the wintertime make soups and stuff like that and what was the question yes yeah the berries in the water this is the water of life that really means something when he Sun dancing you don’t eat you don’t drink water for four days so when they’re done with the fourth day they really kept their they miss that water and that kind of wakes them up water his life brings it back to reality because you want your son dancing you focus on hair you don’t eat and drink water there’s no smell in your body oh that’s your clean so of oh gosh Allah sees you more better receives your message your message he DC here takes them and listens to your sent your voice since your voice oh yeah I mean sent your voice I create a rhotic well I listen this is listening it’s always listening it’s it’s up to you to connect with him I want help then he helps you it’s just like Jesus he hears you and what else the land we plant the land we use to plant it’s like the farmers they use fields and fields of soybeans and wheat and corn we plant enough for us enough thirsty to eat we planned a lot of potatoes when I was young and I think this is all government issue there’s a scoop shovel that you can make cellar and that’s where all our potatoes are vegetables I kept during wintertime and there’s a roof over it so there’s a freeze and horses we used the horses and they eat the hay that we cut put in the barn hayloft and the horses eat all winter and they chickens we had chickens and we have our Chris eggs every morning with eggs and how she keeps milk solve that comes from the land

Source materials

Supplied transcript documents. Text and transcription uncertainties are preserved as supplied.