Rapid City school students received Lakota language and culture classes this year. The addition introduced hundreds of Native and non-Native kids to the new curriculum.
Rapid City students in elementary and middle school grades could take Lakota language courses this year. More than 700 students signed up - some for advanced courses.
Whitnee Pearce is the Director of Diversity, Equity and Outreach for the school district.
“And then oftentimes what we’re seeing is teachers throughout those buildings are incorporating Lakota language in their math lessons and on their English projects and things of that nature to really engage their students and connect learning to their other classes.”
The new classes introduce students and teachers to a language and culture that may be new to them. Pearce says Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings, or OSEU teachers, help bring local Native cultures into schools.
“They not only go into classrooms throughout our district, all subject levels, but they also work one on one with the teachers who are in the buildings at all times. And so our ultimate goal is for our OSEU teachers to really help and coach and mentor our building teachers in really being able to create OSEU based learning for their classrooms on an everyday basis.”
Pearce says school staff and educators are eager to incorporate the new material . Oceti Sakowi teachers work with the community to develop specific lesson plans.
“We created a database of all of our lessons where we have hundreds of lessons that have been looked at by elders, that have been looked at by community members and that are utilized not only within our school but also within the state and also nationally.”
Pearce says this year, more than 13 thousand students had contact with a Lakota teacher or team member in their classroom.