SD Social Studies & OSEU Unit 1

Addressing OSEU 1 1. What is the Wolakota Project? 2. How can the WoLakota Project help in teacher education, science, math and social studies courses? 3. Why does education often not address the “Land Base”? 4. What are the reasons it’s important for children to learn to take care of the land? 5. Are there arguments that care for the land is not an important lesson for children to learn? What are those? Addressing OSEU 2 1. How does OSEU 2 help students to know it’s okay for them to “be who they are?” 2. How many students feel that school “isn’t important” or that they “don’t fit it” in school? What’s being done to address these problems in our state? In our nation? 3. Is teaching more difficult today than ever before, and if it is, what makes it so? 4. How is educational “rigor” defined in our state? In our nation? 5. What are the stories from the Elders that fit with this understanding? Addressing OSEU 3 1. What are the numbers concerning Native American representation in highly visible professions like acting, music, pro sports, politics etc? 2. Who is Fran Waln? 3. How many young native students are learning traditional practices like flute or drum or traditional song and dance? What efforts are being made to increase these opportunities? 4. Why have so many traditional practices been “lost” among the people of the Oceti Sakowin? Addressing OSEU 4 1. How is the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota sense of community unique? 2. How is the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota sense of family or kinship unique? 3. How does a sense of community or relatedness impact learning in the classroom? 4. How might the classroom community needs of native students mirror and differ from those of non-native students?

Addressing OSEU 1 1. What experiences have you had in school as a student or as a teacher that have addressed human beings’ relationship or responsibility toward the land? 2. What stores concerning respect and stewardship did you learn growing up? 3. How do you think the physical place where you grew up impacts your life work today? 4. To what degree should “care for the land” be a focus in the classes you teach? Why do you feel this way? Addressing OSEU 2 1. Do you have a story of “walking away from school” or of not do doing so well in school? Have you ever shared it with your students? 2. Have you ever, or do you now feel like you “don’t fit” in some way? How does that impact the work you do? 3. Is there a specific “somebody” who impacted your life and decision to be a teacher? Who is that person and how did they impact you? 4. What might it mean to “meet students where they are at?” Do you have any stories about this fro your work as a teacher or educator? Addressing OSEU 3 1. What things in today’s popular media (TV, music, sports, etc) do you identify with? do they “reflect” your identity or “shape” it or both? In what ways? 2. When you were a student (elementary, middle or high school years) what heroes or celebrities helped you shape your identity? Have those influences remained strong within you or have they changed? 3. What songs, stories, dances, practices, etc have shaped your sense of cultural identity? 4. Do you fall somewhere on a line from “traditional” to “assimilated” or in relation to the culture you grew up in? Where do you fall? How does that impact your interactions with others? Addressing OSEU 4 1. Have you ever experienced a deep sense of community as a student or as a teacher? How was that created? 2. What experiences have you had in classrooms or workplaces with very little sense of community? How did that impact learning or productivity? 3. What have you done in your classroom that connected students with their families in some way? What were the successes? Were there some particular problems that arose? How did you deal with them? 4. Have you ever had one of your own children or grandchildren in your classroom? What did you learn from that? 5. Have you ever had siblings or close relatives as students in the same classroom? What are the particular benefits or challenges of that situation?

Unit 1 What are the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings? (with a focus on 1, 2, 3 & 4) If you haven’t already, you can download the OSEU document here! In this unit, you’ll be getting to know the first 4 Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings through reading, viewing and reflecting upon the understandings themselves and video interviews with Dottie LeBeau, one of the original authors of the understandings, and Dr Cheryl Medearis, Dean of the College of Education at Sinte Gleska University established in Mission, SD by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. After reading each Understanding and its accompanying standards and viewing each set of introductions by Elder Dottie LeBeau and Dr Cheryl Medearis, use the survey links to journal reflectively about your initial sense of each of the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings. Unit 1a: Click Here to Complete the “Understanding the OSEU” Survey on OSEU 1 Unit 1b: Click Here to Complete the “Understanding the OSEU” Survey on OSEU 2 Unit 1c: Click Here to Complete the “Understanding the OSEU” Survey on OSEU 3 Unit 1d: Click Here to Complete the “Understanding the OSEU” Survey on OSEU 4 To learn even more about each of the understandings, read the extended descriptions for each. These are included in the OSEU document itself, and can be found at the bottom of each of the WoLakota Project OSEU Elder interview main pages . Next Unit: Unit 2 Where and What are the WoLakota Project Elder Interviews… and How Do I Use Them? OSEU 1: Lands & Environment The original land base and natural resources of the Oceti SakOwin [oh-CHEH-tee SHAW-koh-we] Were under communal stewardship prior to immigrant settlement. Oceti Sakowin have a distinct and unique interrelationship with the environment that is essential to South Dakota. Oceti Sakowin Essential Understanding 1, PK-12 Standards Standard 1.1 — Identify changes from the historic land base to the contemporary nine-reservation South Dakota land base of the Oceti Sakowin, and analyze the causes and implication of those changes. Standard 1.2- Describe traditional and contemporary Oceti Sakowin perspectives on communal stewardship of land and natural resources (flora, fauna, geographic and sacred features). Standard 1.3 — Demonstrate understanding of the interrelationships of Oceti Sakowin people, places, and environments within all tribal lands in South Dakota. Standard 1.4 - Identify and explain contemporary environmental issues facing Oceti Sakowin lands (i.e. Dakota Pipeline, etc.). Standard 1.5 — Examine strategies the tribal governments and other tribal leaders are taking to improve the lands and natural gifts of Oceti Sakowin people. cation www.wolakotaproject.org Oceti Sakowin Essential Understanding 2, PK-12 Standards \ RE whee.) eke | yt" Yi S08 : > eo ‘4 Rote NW RS oF Keb kh Me ta oe ; J . NL Ye a ae’ ip & There is variety and resiliency among individuals within the Oceti Sakowin {oh-CHEH-tee SHAW-koh-we] Oyate [oh-YAH-tay] (people) as identity is developed, defined and redefined by entities, by organization, and by people. A continuum of tribal identity, unique to each individual, ranges from assimilated to traditional lifestyle. There is no “generic American Indian.” ¢ Standard 2.1 —-Demonstrate knowledge of the Oceti Sakowin people’s understanding of the interrelationship of spiritual, physical, social and emotional health. ¢ Standard 2.2 —Describe the impact of Euro-American ideals, values, rights, philosophy, and beliefs, upon Oceti Sakowin people as tribal, state, and US citizens. ¢ Standard 2.3 --Recognize that there is a continuum of tribal identity, ranging from assimilated to traditional lifestyle, that includes each unique subculture or individual member within the Oceti Sakowin. www.wolakotaproject.org OSEU 3: Culture & Language The origin, thought and philosophy of the Oceti Sakowin {ob- CHEH-tee SHAW-koh-we] continues in the contemporary lifestyles of Tribal members. Tribal cultures, traditions and languages are incorporated and observed by many Tribal members both on and off the reservations. Oceti Sakowin Essential Understanding 3, PK-12 Standards ¢« Standard 3.1 —Identify similarities and differences among the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota language dialects. ¢ Standard 3.2- Describe efforts made by Tribal members on and off the reservation to revitalize Oceti Sakowin languages. ¢ Standard 3.3 —Recall Oceti Sakowin sacred sites, creation stories, and star knowledge and describe how they relate to each other, and how they are still used today on and off the reservation. ¢ Standard 3.4 - Identify Oceti Sakowin songs and categorize them by appropriate context (ceremony songs, honoring / celebration songs, and wacipi / powwow songs). www.wolakotaproject.org OSEU 4: Kinship & Harmony Oceti Sakowin [oh-CHEH-tee SHAW-koh-we] Kinship systems provide a framework for both individual and group behavior. Its unwritten rules promote harmony, compromise, a sense of order, and group cohesion. Oceti Sakowin Essential Understanding 4, PK-12 Standards e Standard 4.1 - Compare and contrast the traditional Oceti Sakowin family structure to contemporary family structures. e Standard 4.2 -Describe the traditional behavior patterns, codes of respect and values promoted within the Oceti Sakowin tiospaye. ee) g- 9 www.wolakotaproject.org