Project: Cultural Programs for Yankton Dakota Women and Girls
Organization: Brave Heart Society
Year: 1996 - Present
Tribe: Nakota, Dakota, Lakota (Sioux)
Reservation: Yankton Reservation
Location: Yankton, SD

The Brave Heart Society is the revival of a traditional cultural society for women and works tirelessly at “calling home the spirit of the culture.”

Due to government intervention, the boarding school system, and the breakdown of families due to poverty, the Dakota people lost much of their traditional knowledge. In 1994 the Brave Heart Society was formed on the Yankton Reservation with the mission of bringing traditional knowledge and practices back to everyday life.

One of the Brave Heart Society’s greatest successes has been the revival of the “Isnati Awicadowanpi” Coming of Age ceremony for teenage girls. This tradition, comparable to other coming of age rites such as the Jewish ceremony of Bat Mitzvah, was almost completely lost to Dakota women. By piecing together knowledge from elders, the Brave Heart women revived the Isnati ceremony in a community camp setting in 1997.

2007 marked the 10th year that the Brave Heart Society held “Isnati Awicadowanpi,” making it possible for more than 70 Dakota girls complete the rites.

The Brave Heart Society’s programs also include:

• Annual “Nagi Kicopi” Calling Back the Spirit Retreat
This four day retreat in the Black Hills works to treat the trauma that many Dakota women and girls experience.

• Annual Waterlily Storytelling Institute
This festival allows Native storytellers to tell traditional stories first hand to the Dakota people. Every year, the Storytelling Institute is held for four days, with gatherings at the Brave Heart Lodge and at local school assemblies. Over 1,000 participants heard stories through Waterlily Storytelling Institute.

• White Swan Garden
The Brave Heart Society supports a 3-acre community garden on the Yankton Reservation.

• “Nagi Ksapa” Spirit Smart Work Group
The Brave Heart Society hosts a culturally specific work and life skills group for Dakota girls, ages 9 years and older. One project the group works on is making traditional costumes, through beading and sewing, to teach the girls to take pride in their heritage. In the past year, mothers of the girls have been so impressed with their daughters’ work that they have fund-raised in order to accompany the 35 young women to Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Gathering of Nations. In order to make the trip all youth had to have completed their projects and assist in fundraising. The Brave Heart Society recently completed a 50 year strategic plan to help the organization accomplish its goals in the coming years. The society is currently expanding its programs to include teenage Dakota men through work with preserving sacred tribal sites, horsemanship, and bow building.

Running Strong has worked with the Brave Heart Society for over ten years and provides needed funds for their programs, thanks in part to the generous support of the SEVA Foundation, the Lotus 88 Foundation, and the Center for Sacred Studies.