01 Patricia Christensen: Introduction

My name is Patricia Maiden Christensen. I was raised by my grandparents, both grand great grandparents and grandparents who I was back and forth with. My grandmother my great grandmother woman is her name. She didn't speak English, so I learned my Dakota language since I was a little baby, able to understand that's was my first language. And then when we I got older I went to school so I learned English. I know two i the two languages, the English language and the Dakota language. And I'm fluent understanding. talking, I could talk. there's times that I mispronounce words but I understand everything that's said, you know, because I was raised that way. And so it like When we s when we're we're at functions with the elders, when they talk I'll understand everything and when I'm asked, sometimes I mispronounce words. like one time my grandfather he was my great grandfather and I asked to borrow a couple of dollars from him. I was going to a movie and I was gonna tell him tomorrow I'll pay you but the two words song together Chichukta and Chichutakta. I said the one where I was gonna shoot him the next day. Instead of saying chichukta, I said chichu tikta. My grandpa looked at my great grandpa looked at me said, huh, that was an old Dakota word for minz. I mispronounce words like that and but anyway, they all laughed at me and you know, Grandpa will never give you money again 'cause you're gonna shoot him, you know. And I just Grandpa, Grandpa, I'm sorry, you didn't mean to say I was gonna shoot you tomorrow, you know. And just things like that, you know, and and words I could pronounce right away because we were in school and didn't hear, you know only when we go home and like ice cream, we get that once in a while and I asked, my grandmother, I said, Could she Mansopi Hachi Doctor Chaham Sha now How she I want a candy, I said, and I couldn't say ice cream. I said and Naku I said, Nano, they say licked ice cream, so I Nakku lick lick They all started laughing at me 'cause I couldn't think of it the right way and those things like we our grandparents, you know, correct us and But the way we say it, they laugh at us because, you know, dances wasn't pronounced right. But we used to have a lot of fun. We still I do I have my uncle, he's ninety five years old and I've been recording him too. And he speaks the old Dakota, you know. We have the modern Dakota now, things are made up, so I I always go to him and talk with him. He's the oldest on the rest here. Yeah, he's the oldest. He's ninety five. We just lost one maybe about four years ago he was a hundred and one. And then next it's Papa Saw. Everybody calls him Papa Saw. He's right now he's in a home. hopefully they'll bring him back home here, you know, so they're talking about and I I I I miss him because I've always talking with him daily. I go and visit him and I talk with him daily about long time ago and old our old Dakota. He speaks Cinnaboy in So too. He knows that language. And and if you listen good, you understand our language, you understand it. It's kinda hard to understand, but my Papa saw he speaks that too.