Celebrating Native American Heritage Month

November 13, 2019

On November 13, the student body gathered to listen to Dr. Anton Treuer, a Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of many books, most recently, The Indian Wars: Battles, Bloodshed, and the Fight for Freedom on the American Frontier.

Dr. Treuer spoke about Native American history and culture. A particularly memorable tradition he shared was the ritual of the First Kill. The first time a young person has a successful hunt, they prepare the food for their family. The young person refuses the food three times, thinking of children, the elderly, and those less fortunate. Only then are they allowed to eat. This ritual signifies the transition from childhood and dependency to adulthood and being able to provide for those around them. He highlighted the importance of coming-of-age rituals in various cultures, a topic that was very relevant for our students.

He also discussed Ojibwe beliefs surrounding death, an opportunity for students to reflect on their own beliefs during a difficult week, mourning the loss of one of our students.

Dr. Treuer's speech was not the only way we celebrated Native American Heritage Month. On November 6th, some of the 9th-grade Values classes had a guest speaker for their Native MN Communities Unit.

Travis Decory is a member of the Sicangu tribe from the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota. However, he has worked with homeless youth in the Twin Cities his entire life. For a long time he has worked with Ain Dah Yung Center on Lexington Ave. in St. Paul, and he will be the director at a new center, Mino Oski Ain Dah Yung, on University Ave.

He shared some of his experiences and beliefs while answering student questions about their own study of Lakota culture, both past and present. He shared his success mentoring Native youth as all of his participants have graduated from high school. As a famous singer at pow wows, he is one of just a few who sings all three varieties of traditional song in the Lakota culture, and he even sang for the students.

We take pride in celebrating a wide range of cultures at CDH, and giving our students the opportunity to learn about the world around them.