The Cheyenne River Youth Project Will Host Information Session for New Lakota Immersion School on Saturday, Dec. 1

EAGLE BUTTE, S.D. — Lakȟótiyapi Okáȟtaŋ Wičhóičhaǧe Inc. (LOWI), the new Eagle Butte-based Lakota immersion school set to open in January, invites the community to an open house and information session on Saturday, Dec. 1. Scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the event will take place at the Cheyenne River Youth Project’s “The Main” youth center, located at 702 4th St. in Eagle Butte.

At the information session, family members will have the opportunity to ask questions, tour the facilities, meet school staff and board members, and register their children. Principal Manny Iron Hawk will be on hand for the event, as will Business Manager Kathleen Eagle Chasing and Board Member Renee Iron Hawk.

“We’re looking forward to hosting LOWI and our community members on Dec. 1,” says Jerica Widow, CRYP’s youth programs director. “It will be a wonderful opportunity for families to learn about this important school opportunity for their kindergarten-age students. And, while they learn more about the school, they can enjoy refreshments and door prizes.”

In addition to CRYP, LOWI also has the support of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River school system and the Lakota Language Consortium, a nonprofit that is dedicated to the revitalization of the Lakota language. According to the consortium, the LOWI initiative is particularly exciting due to the longstanding need for a Lakota immersion program in Eagle Butte.

LOWI will welcome its first class of 20 kindergarten students this January. The school will offer all instruction in Lakota, incorporating subjects like math and science as well as Lakota traditions and culture; its goal is to develop second-language fluency. The Main at CRYP will be the interim site of the first class, while construction continues on the permanent school site.

When asked for his thoughts on the opening of LOWI, Iron Hawk simply says, “Woihánble wan wanna iyečetu — The dream has come true.”

The Lakota language has always been important to Iron Hawk, and to his teenage daughter Claudia. It lies at the center of their lives, and it gives them both a powerful sense of purpose. This past summer, the duo visited the StoryCorps MobileBooth in Bismarck, North Dakota, to discuss family history—and Lakota as a force for healing. Visit http://news.prairiepublic.org/post/lakota-father-and-daughter-working-revitalize-their-language to listen.