The Lakota Nation Invitational is on in Rapid City, and each year means fresh competitions for students. This year marked the first ever year young speakers were recognized at the event.
Dan Snethan, speech coach for the Little Wound School Mustangs, couldn’t contain his excitement announcing the first ever LNI awards ceremony after a full day of storytelling, poetry, and elevating the voices of high schoolers from all walks of life.
For one of those students, Little Wound senior Aroha Clifford, speech is a chance to reclaim both her voice and future.
“It feels very powerful, and for me being able to walk in front of people, getting to share my voice and my story and where I’m from is empowering," Clifford said. "I get to tell people about this place that nobody really knows about, and these beautiful people nobody really knows about. If I can continue doing this after high school, I would like to get more into depth of doing Native American pieces.”
For sophomore Nikolas Yellow Boy, who left with two first place plates, speech is all about self-discovery.
“Find what you’re interested in, find your voice, and if that’s really what you want to do – you want to talk in front of people – it feels like you have a spotlight on you," Yellow Boy said. "You have all these people watching you, all these judges critiquing you, but it feels so good when you win all these rewards. It feels like you’ve actually achieved something.”
The LNI continues through this weekend.