Interview · North Dakota · South Dakota · Jesse Taken Alive · OSEU 2 · NDNAEU 7
Themes: Language & revitalization, Kinship & family, Storytelling & oral tradition, Education & learning, Spirituality & ceremony, Values & generosity, Arts & expression, Listening & observation, Children & young people, Intergenerational learning
Learn About questions
1. How difficult is it for young people to leave the reservation and go off to college or to work somewhere else? What are the challenges?
2. How has your “Indian” name set you apart or made you stand out? What are the positives? What struggles has it created?
3. What is the “Indian Name Movement”?
4. How does a Lakota name connect someone personally with the Creator? How does it connect them with others?
5. What is the significance of the prayer, Mitakuye Oyasin? How does it go “all the way to the stars”?
Learn From questions
1. Did you ever have a tough “leaving home” experience? What happened? How did you deal with your new surroundings?
2. Has your name ever set you apart from those around you in some way? What’s the story behind that?
3. How do you feel about your name? What significance does it have for you? What meaning does it have?
4. Whom does your name connect you to?
5. Are there any particular phrases that are significant for you? Do you have any “prayer phrases” that you grew up with? Do they still have significance for you?
Transcripts
Indian Names - Jesse Taken Alive - OSEU 2
Watch this interview on YouTubeI am reminded of the time I left the Rez and went to college at Black Hills State. In some of the classes they would take roll…take attendance every day. I would sit in the back of the classroom…and they did it in alphabetical order. Every time it would start getting to the “T”s, I would begin to cringe like “Oh my,” you know. The instructor wouldn’t say your first name, just your last name. I always remember the instructor, Dr. Sever Eubank,” who taught history. That is my major. I went to school to teach high school history. He would just look down and wouldn’t look up. We’d have to say “here.” And he’d say “Taken Alive.” “Here.” And to see all my non-Indian friends look back every day like, “Who has a last name like that?” And like, “Ok, c’mon guys and girls, same guy.” But to have gone through those types of experiences…and I’m certain other relatives and friends with crazy sounding last names like mine probably went through similar experiences. So to have gone through those…and now today…to see as I call it “The Indian Name Movement” if you will.” A lot of our relatives, a lot of the new young people…seeking and desiring to have a Lakota name…which is awesome! Very very awesome because it connects them individually and personally to the Creator. It connects them individually and personally with each other. And as a result of that process, we end our petitions, if you will, to the Creator with that phrase, “Mitakuye Oyasin.” And that in itself is one of the most famous prayers as our elderly would tell us in our language.
LAKOTA PHRASE. Just that phrase, they say…in itself… is an awesome prayer…and it goes all the way to the stars.
Resource text
OSEU 2: INTERVIEW WITH JESSE TAKEN ALIVE
WoLakota Project
From the current WoLakota source page:
Indian Names
Jesse Taken Alive
Transcript
(deep listening, information)
(deep listening, transformation)
Teachings of Our Elders resource text:
NDNAEU Alignment:
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.
Some linked transcripts could not be indexed. See the source materials for those additional resources.