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16.4: Chapter 4

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    310035
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    4.4.1. Listening Comprehension

    00:08 Genevieve: I was probably 11 or 12 at the time.

    00:11 And my uncle, Emmet, passed away.

    00:16 My mom got really depressed.

    00:18 She started drinking really bad and she started treating us different.

    00:24 There was this guy, he was just... some kind of stranger.

    00:28 All of a sudden he started staying around more

    00:30 and she left me and my two brothers at home alone...for...days on end.

    00:37 One day that man, he was in the back room with my mom.

    00:41 I heard them talking about shooting up something.

    00:44 So I texted my grandma and I told her what was going on,

    00:46 she said “hold on we’ll come get you.”

    00:49 So I got up my brothers really, really fast.

    00:51 I just put, like, any clothes on them I could find.

    00:55 And I packed a bag...and we left.

    01:05 “Ooh, look at that fly.

    01:06 I’m lightning speed, that’s why my name’s “Lightning.’”

    01:11 (laughs)

    01:14 “I don’t know how to work these.”

    01:15 “You just click play.”

    01:16 “Okay, cool.”

    01:28 “Oh, I’m off beat!

    01:30 Hold on.”

    01:32 “You always have to turn when the double beats come in.”

    01:38 My name is Genevieve Iron Lightning.

    01:40 My Lakota Name is Tȟokáhe Nážiŋ Wiŋ or “Stands First Woman.”

    01:45 And I’m the descendant of Chief Iron Lightning.

    01:49 I kinda was born dancing.

    01:51 It makes me feel connected, like, I’m in touch with my ancestors and my culture.

    02:00 “And this is when she first got Mini Miss.

    02:03 Ooh, you look like me in there.

    02:05 (laughs) “What does it say on the sash, 2006?”

    02:07 “It says Mini Me” “2006!”

    02:11 (laughs) “This is her, um, picture from last year.

    02:13 Is this last year’s?”

    02:15 “Yeah…my freshman year didn’t turn out good.”

    02:25 It’s difficult living in Eagle Butte.

    02:27 It’s difficult living on a reservation.

    02:31 The houses aren’t very nice, there’s trash in the yards.

    02:35 Broken and busted cars in the driveways.

    02:39 Parents don’t really take care of their kids,

    02:40 unless, you know, I don’t know, unless they have a job.

    02:48 Julie: Cheyenne River has the unfortunate distinction

    02:51 of being one of the poorest counties in the nation.

    02:57 That’s overwhelming when you think about it.

    03:02 How do we get by?

    03:05 Many of our people turn to alcohol.

    03:08 Most recently, meth has become a really big issue in our community.

    03:14 But you know, we didn’t create the situation here.

    03:19 They put us on these reservations to contain us, to control us, to keep us segregated.

    03:28 And so as a result, we have a population of people

    03:30 who don’t have access to economic resources.

    03:35 Julie: When you have poverty and addiction, it’s

    03:38 very easy to forget that there’s little kids sitting next to you that need to be acknowledged,

    03:44 and hugged and talked to.

    03:49 Children are...a reflection of the surroundings that they’re in.

    03:56 Children need to be seen.

    03:59 They need people guiding them, loving them.

    04:02 And they need opportunity

    04:14 My first summer here, my grandma was reading the newspaper and she saw something about

    04:18 internships at the Cheyenne River Youth Project.

    04:21 They were looking for people to work in the cafe that just opened that same summer.

    04:26 So my grandma’s like, “Hey I’m going to get you into that.”

    04:32 Julie: The Cheyenne River Youth Project is 100% about

    04:35 being a positive influence on the kids of our community.

    04:39 Within our facilities, we offer internships, wellness programs, the arts.

    04:45 We have a teen center, a gymnasium, dance studio, computer lab.

    04:50 We also have the Winyan Toka Win garden.

    04:55 We’re talking about their mental health, their physical health, their education.

    05:00 All these different pieces that help them grow.

    05:07 When CRYP first started, there wasn’t a youth organization here.

    05:13 And then over the years as we’ve evolved we’ve learned from our kids and from our

    05:17 community about what the needs are.

    05:22 It’s important that we help them to understand the history

    05:25 and who we are as a people, as Lakota people.

    05:30 Moving us to reservations and the assimilation of our people.

    05:34 All these things still impact us today.

    05:39 Wakiya: Every other nationality in America were free

    05:42 to practice their culture in anyway they saw fit, but not us as Native Americans.

    05:49 It was against the law.

    05:52 “Kill the Indian and save the man.”

    05:54 We’re still dealing with that today.

    05:58 (Lakota language) Always remember that you’re Lakota first.

    06:07 Julie: It’s important for our young people to remember where they come from.

    06:12 That’s what our ancestors would want.

    06:14 We want them to impart that onto their children when the next generation comes.

    06:34 Julie: When you have poverty added to the historical trauma.

    06:41 It’s just...a kind of big...mess.

    06:50 A problem with a lot of our kids is that you just reach a breaking point

    06:55 when you don’t know what to do.

    06:57 And if there’s nobody there to support you, to get you through these tough times...

    07:03 then sometimes things happen.

    07:08 In the last month, we had at east two completed suicides.

    07:16 There were something like ten attempts.

    07:21 It’s like we have room for death but we don’t have room for life.

    07:29 You have to step into places that are uncomfortable

    07:31 in order to do the work that we’re trying to do with our kids.

    07:36 They deserve more.

    07:54 Julie: The picture I want to paint is that we have

    07:56 our challenges but we are lifting ourselves up.

    08:03 Our internships at CRYP provide a way out for our young people.

    08:13 You know, we’re teaching them about the business, they’re learning their interpersonal

    08:17 communication skills and how to manage money.

    08:21 They also learn about writing resumes.

    08:24 All those pieces that help a kid to prepare for the future.

    08:30 Genevieve: Job opportunities are limited on the reservation,

    08:33 so Keya Cafe and the other internships set you up for different job experiences.

    08:41 Julie: We’re giving them confidence

    08:42 in how to go find a job or maybe they can have their own business.

    08:47 We want them to imagine the possibilities.

    08:52 “Oh my gosh, I’m spilling it.”

    08:54 I come over here at 7 and I get done at 2, and that was like...tiring for me.

    09:00 But, earning your own money, it makes you feel like you're growing up,

    09:06 it makes you feel independent.

    09:16 The internships help you prepare for life after high school.

    09:22 I am definitely gonna go to college and I will come back and help my community in any way I can.

    09:28 Because, it’s a struggle here, but it’s my home.

    09:52 Genevieve: My grandma, her dad is Grant Iron Lightning Jr.,

    09:56 her grandpa is Grant Iron Lightning Sr.,

    09:59 and then I can't remember his dad's name,

    10:01 but it’s five generations back is Chief Iron Lightning.

    10:04 He could walk anywhere and he could just come back with horses.

    10:09 And that made him a leader to the Lakota people.

    10:13 “And this is where my great grandpa Iron Lightning was buried.

    10:17 This is Dale Iron Lighting, he was one of my uncles.

    10:21 That’s who I was named after.”

    10:23 Genevieve: Knowing that I come from these great people,

    10:2 I feel like I have to do big things, ya know?

    10:31 (singing)

    11:42 I want to set a good example for the younger generations, ya know?

    11:47 To show them that I did struggle here,

    11:51 but I did the youth internships at CRYP.

    11:54 I did anything in my power to make something of myself.

    12:00 I like that feeling of doing something right, ya know?

    12:05 It makes my people proud and I like making my people proud.

    12:16 Julie: Our dream and our idea of success and wealth is...

    12:21 just different.

    12:24 I think we see family and culture and tradition and singing and dancing as...wealth.

    12:39 Being Lakota, we’ve had this oppressive weight for all these years.

    12:48 But this generation of kids is...

    12:52 different.

    12:56 They’re proud of who we are.

    12:59 They're proud to be Lakota.

    13:03 They’re not afraid to speak up.

    13:07 To change what’s happening for us.

    13:11 And let the world know that we are still here.

    13:18 They are the next culture bearers.

    13:22 The next leaders.

    13:25 They’re a powerful new generation.

    13:32 “I got it, we’re connected!”

    13:34 There’s so much they’ve overcome.

    13:38 Imagine the possibilities if we can help them grow

    13:43 and give them the skills to go out into the world and thrive.

    Lakota in America” is copyright by Square.

    4.4.2. Exercise-Listening Practice

    When I was a child, I used to live on a farm. My family had over 350 animals. I had to feed them every evening when I returned home from school even when the weather was cold and wet. Because of this enormous responsibility, I could not hang out with my friends on weekdays. Instead, I would visit them on weekends. Working on a farm gave me great physical strength. I could lift heavy bags of grain and shovel dirt easily.


    This page titled 16.4: Chapter 4 is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Rebecca Al Haider via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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