Not What Hollywood Says with Scott Davis

Yeah well I think first and foremost it’s it’s well overdue you know when I look at the Department of Department of construction you know it didn’t float over the years my father used to work for that back in the 80s as the director of Internet at that time and then it just went away and fortunate now with a super Tina Bader and now with Lucy at the helm you know it’s obviously changed it’s grown it’s created much opportunity and regards to the essential understandings you know this is something that’s a really big deal that has been talked about by tribal leaders for a long time like we need this we need this you know we in this curriculum in our public schools and finally it’s here and it’s taken some time but so it’s across the state obviously every tribal community is different I’m how they talk about their stories their treaties their culture and so forth so every trouble be different in that sense and dpi has done a great job of identifying that and making sure those stories are correct and the history is correct but when you talk about mainstream North Dakota you know the cities and the counties and so forth you know this is a huge opportunity to finally learn the true history of our people you know and I think when our in our underserved communities whether they’re tribal or non travel you know now you’re talking about identity you know now you’re talking about stereotypes you’re talking about what Hollywood did to us you know portraying us in a very negative way and not talking about the positive things about what the word dakota means you know lakota means you know and what the names of you know Lake Sakakawea means you know the city of Mandan I mean people just kind of it kind of goes in one ear and out the air but those are really traditional names of our people and who we are and but that’s not in our history books you know it’s not that’s not being taught you know fully like it should be in our public school systems so in a way I’ve always thought that growing up I felt like I was cheated in learning the true history in a school setting you know unfortunately again my parents my grandparents taught me the true history of our people of my relatives but we don’t do that in the schools until now and so this is a big deal and ultimately I think I really feel strongly that you know it’s gonna relate to stronger identity of who we are you know more pride in the fact that you know God made you who you are you know creator you know created something beautiful and how good is that you know that’s a blessing and then on top of that I think it’s just I go back to the misunderstandings of who we are you know and that were not who Hollywood said we were you know because I think I think overall in history our people my people have been the most documented most written about most photographed than any other ethnic group in America but a lot of that was done by somebody else it was always an angle to it well the true angle is now here with this essential understanding is this is the true story and to me that’s that’s that’s such a wonderful thing to be part of