Earlier this Summer, members of our Great Plains QIN team were fortunate to travel through a small portion of the traditional home lands of the Lakota people and participate in the Lakota Lands & Identities Traveling Seminar hosted by the Community Healthcare Association of the Dakotas (CHAD).
The Seminar, developed and provided by the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS), is structured to encourage critical thinking about the intersections of Lakotan history, culture and land on the one hand, and non-Lakotan perspectives of important places and events in the Lakotan homeland in the other. Organizers are striving for a more nuanced awareness of the broader historical and contemporary relationships between American Indians and non-Indians.
The traveling seminar covered the span of three days and many miles throughout rural South Dakota and the Pine Ridge Reservation. There were 7-9 stops each day and participants spent time, networking and learning while on the bus, sharing ideas and insight and visits to several important places. Learnings centered around a historical overview, sacred sites and treaties. Instructors shared the experiences of the tribal nations and how colonization impacted and currently impacts the people; including a loss of trust and dignity.
“We developed these traveling seminars, there are a number of interrelated reasons. Academically, these classrooms on wheels facilitate stretches of instructional time while traveling to important sites in Lakotan history. At the sites, participants get off the bus and can stand at the places where important events unfolded, or in other cases, such as at visitor centers, they can conduct immersive hands-on activities and comparisons. Socially, the structured changing of seat mates and group greetings at the beginning and end of each day promote networking and collegiality,” added Dr. Craig Howe, CAIRNS Founder and Director.
Our team shared the following take-aways and insights as a result of the experience.
“I would encourage anyone who has a chance to take this workshop to do it! There was so much to learn in a very short time! A couple things I found of value: 1) healthy foods and resources are not always readily available and easy to access, 2) the distance between and to a medical facility can be vast and 3) when asking about family health history, it is important to specify who you are referring to as the roles of family members are not (for example, a mother and her sisters are all referred to as ‘Mother’, shared Jenifer Lauckner, RN, BSN; Great Plains QIN Quality Improvement Advisor.
Stephanie Meduna added, “This Seminar offered education regarding the Lakotan people and Native Americans every minute of the tour. This was truly a “magic school bus” where the learning of the native culture was not only discussed while we drove, but was also visible out the windows of the bus. Making stops by several sacred sites was very humbling. Hearing the history about the sacred sites and then visiting them and exploring them brought forth so many emotions. Very interesting to hear how the white man did not allow for the Lakotan people to practice their native ways of life and wanted the Lakotans to adapt to our language, history, religion, and way of life was eye opening in some respects. The tour helped me to realize the way that I live is not the way others live and one has to be versed regarding other cultures to ensure, we as healthcare workers, are able to treat the whole person.” Stephanie Meduna, RN, BSN is a Quality Improvement Advisor with Great Plains Quality Innovation Network.
“At the beginning of the workshop, we completed a baseline assessment of our knowledge of the Lakotan culture. Most of our scores were very low (less than 35 percent). It was one of many reminders throughout the three-day seminar, of my limited perspective. Being able to learn the history and experience of many spiritual and sacred sites was impactful. I have a greater understanding of the trauma experienced by Lakotans and how that continues to impact lives today. I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone for a greater personal and professional understanding of Lakotan history and culture,” added Carrie Sorenson, PharmD; Great Plains QIN Quality Improvement Advisor;
Lisa Thorp added, “This workshop really helps to understand what the Lakotan people and other Native Americans went through as more people migrated to and moved throughout America. It was so helpful to better understand their culture and really made me think about how we often think we know “what is better” for a certain group of people, what people should do or how they should act. When I think back to my own ancestors who migrated from Germany to Russia and then to the US because they were being treated unfairly in their homeland, it is amazing that ‘someone’ didn’t realize that the very same thing was happening to the Native Americans who were being stripped of their own traditions, language and ways of life. I do have experience working with the Native American population, but it was humbling; again, thinking that “my education” would make me know what is best for someone in this population. I do feel I was/am respectful to their culture, but looking back, I would be more purposeful about being more patient/culture-centered and be sure to develop their treatment plan in accordance with their beliefs and cultural practices. Lisa Thorp, BSN, CDCES, is a Quality Improvement Advisor with Great Plains QIN.
“The most valuable element of this experience was having the opportunity to learn and see the results of colonization and how it has impacted and still impacts every aspect of Lakotan culture and individuals. Walking through the historical events through the lens of the Lakotan people helped to shape a clearer understanding of the current barriers this population faces and historical influence of those barriers. The information that I gained also helped me grown in my ability to empathize and have a better understanding of the Lakotan history. This experience highlighted the importance of continuing to learn how to be an ally of this population, shared Alissa Wood, RN, BSN; Quality Improvement Advisor with Great Plains Quality Innovation Network.
Learn more about the Lakota Lands Seminar in this NewsCenter1 news story.
The Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS) is an Indian-controlled nonprofit research and education center that is committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of American Indian communities and issues important to them by developing quality educational resources and innovative projects that acknowledge and incorporate tribal perspectives, and by serving as a meeting ground for peoples and ideas that support those perspectives. CAIRNS also provides design services for projects dealing with American Indians and Indian communities and offers cultural awareness training to organizations and institutions. CAIRNS was founded in 2004 and is located on Indian Trust Land at Wingsprings in the Lacreek District of Pine Ridge Reservation near Martin, South Dakota.