Project: Lakota Language Classes for Youth
Organization: Little White Buffalo Project
Year: 1999-Present
Tribe: American Indian Youth in Rapid City, SD
Location: Rapid City, SD

When Lakota families move from reservations to urban Rapid City, they often find themselves trading the cultural resources available on the reservations for economic security.

This change is especially hard on children. There are few cultural programs for Lakota children in mainstream schools, and without contact with tribal elders they are cut off from learning the Lakota language and traditional customs.

In 1999, the Little White Buffalo Program began as a Lakota language summer program. The program’s director, Susanna Geliga (Sicangu/Oglala Lakota/Taino), is fluent in both written and spoken Lakota. She works for the Project full-time and has been described by the Lakota Journal as a “one-woman army.”

Susanna recognized the need for children in Rapid City to develop their traditional Lakota language, culture, and identity.

As the first summer session met with great success the program has grown and expanded. Today it is a year-round afterschool and summer program that has touched the lives of over 400 youth of all ages.

Activities children participate in at the Little White Buffalo Project include:
• Lakota language classes
• “adopting” a Lakota elder and visiting them regularly with food and gifts
• performances for Lakota elders in senior centers in Rapid City
• traditional and cultural food workshops
• craft activities where youth learn traditional methods of beading, etc.

Running Strong is in its seventh year of support for the Little White Buffalo Project, thanks in part to the generous support of the Tides Foundation and 7th Generation Fund.

Through partnerships with Running Strong and CRSC, the Little White Buffalo Project is also able to provide school supplies to participants in the fall, turkeys at Thanksgiving, and a holiday party at Christmas time.