Lakota Language

Over the years I have found that there are many ways to view the world and our relationship to it. In my life I have experienced at least 3 distinct world views that were held by large groups of people. A person could call these 3 distinct world views different cultures, but it would be inaccurate to call all 3 “cultures”. Only 1 of the world views can be called a culture – the other 2 are fragments left over after the original culture was dissected and destroyed.

What is culture?

Culture is the methods which groups of people establish and maintain to ensure connection to themselves, to their community, and to nature. That is true culture – and I have only seen that once – and only for a short period of time.

The only true culture I ever witnessed was during my initial time in the prairie of South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The culture I beheld at this time was alive, intact, and mostly healthy. The processes were in place for deep connection to happen. The community was strong and people’s connection to the earth was obvious.

The Lakota language is one of the main ways that this culture remained intact.

The Lakota language is incredible. Just one world can hold so much meaning that it would take a paragraph in English to explain the same thing. Even after studying this language for 21 years I’m still just barely scratching the surface of the knowledge it contains. Lakota is a challenging language to effectively translate into English. Behind Lakota words, there is a culture, history, and spiritual version of the world that is very different from the background of the English language.

How does the Lakota language help maintain a healthy culture?

Relationships and knowing one’s family is very important to the Lakota culture. It is a connected way of looking at life which reinforces family ties continuously. While speaking Lakota, everyone addresses each other by how they are related rather than by their given names. People address each other as Cousin, Auntie, Brother, Sister; or in a way that defined their relationship. It is actually considered somewhat disrespectful to call a person by their name.

Another example of how this language builds connection is one of the most famous and often repeated words from the Lakota language – Mitakuye Oyasin. This word is typically translated to “All My Relations” – which is a literal translation. But to interpret Mitakuye Oyasin into the words All My Relations really does not convey the idea!

A more accurate translation would be something like this: “I recognize that I am connected to all things, and all things are my relatives – I will approach all aspects of life in this manner.”

Saying Mitakuye Oyasin is just one way of maintaining connection to ourselves, our community, and all of nature. It mentally and spiritually reinforces our interconnectedness, and reminds us of our place within the universe.