While stories could be used to hand down the pain of the past — Dearly talked of “the never ending genocide happened historically with American Indian
people across America and all of the stories that went with them before they died at the hands of the government” — they could be very humorous as well.
“There was this elderly man, an old time teacher, who was talking to a whole bunch of young kids,” Dearly related. “The elderly man said ‘There are no cuss
words and no terrible words in any given Native, indigenous language.’ He was talking to the young people and a hand shot up. He said ‘Yes.’ And the youth said
‘Since you said what you said, if I were to hang up a picture up on a wall. I’ve got my hammer and I’m starting to pound on the nail head with my hammer so it
will go into the wall and I miss. And I really hit my thumb and that hurts, then what would you say.’ The elder said ‘Oh that is simple. Then we would use your
language.’”
Storytelling is also used to impart traditional values to young people growing up in a very contemporary world. “I wanted to get across to the males to never
touch or abuse or negatively say anything to any woman because for every part of our culture, the woman has a part of that,” Dearly said. “A woman is the center
of our sweat lodge. She is White Buffalo Calf. A woman brought the sacred pipe that is very special to all of us, especially to the Lakota where it still exists in
Eagle View, South Dakota. It came to us around 1,100 B.C. and the pipe is still out there that we use. If it wasn’t for women, we wouldn’t be here today. All of our
food comes from Mother Earth. Mother Earth is always nourishing us. To be a warrior, you need to remember who and what a warrior is. That was one of the
stories I was trying to get across to the people. I just wanted to create that message that warriors need to stand up and be warriors.”
Dearly teaches American Indian cultural studies and the Lakota language in the St. Paul, Minn. Public schools. He is concerned that we are gradually
losing the Native languages. “I foresee — this is only spoken by Jerry Dearly — that we are gradually losing our language,” Dearly said. “I still made two songs this
year. One was for a young boy who passed away and I made it for his family. And then I made another song for a woman on her 18th birthday. I’m going to give
her her name and then we’re going to give her her plume and then I will be singing this song that I made for her because it goes with the name that I am giving
her. The Lakota name that I am giving her is in that song. It describes what kind of person she is. While I still maintain and have my language and still came up
as a dancer as a young man and then gradually learned how to sing and still today, I still sing, I still try to do these things that way that only I know how, that my
uncles and others taught me over the years. Through songs and dances is another way to tell stories.”
Speaking of dances and songs, Dearly will be the announcer at the upcoming Wunk Sheek Pow Wow on March 28. He talked of the songs that are sung with
the drumming at a pow wow. “We have songs that have words to them,” Dearly said about the Lakota. “And these words will describe what is going on during that
particular time and the reason why we are singing that song. And the reason we are singing these songs is it could be a birthday or maybe a jingle dress song. I
think I would be kind of strapped to really sing the jingle dress song because I am Lakota and not Ojibwe. The Ojibwe people have their culture. We would
borrow the song from some old Ojibwe singer and have him join us and give him tobacco before we can properly sing that song. Those are some examples of
how the Lakota people have words in our songs because we describe the situation or the incident of why the song is being sung. In that way too, there is
communication going on there. And there is an imagery that is being set by the words of that song. And they were good for us because at one time, a lot of
people at our gatherings, celebrations and pow wows all spoke the language. Today if a singing group starts to sing the song, he knows full well they don’t
understand the language very well because, I’m sorry to say, we are losing our language. Most of those songs they are singing are going to be straight songs with
just a melody with no words.”
But without the words, the essence and meaning of those times long ago will vanish from the collective experience of generations to come.
The Wunk Sheek Spring Traditional Pow-wow will be held March 28 at the Kohl Center’s Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion, 1-10 p.m.
people across America and all of the stories that went with them before they died at the hands of the government” — they could be very humorous as well.
“There was this elderly man, an old time teacher, who was talking to a whole bunch of young kids,” Dearly related. “The elderly man said ‘There are no cuss
words and no terrible words in any given Native, indigenous language.’ He was talking to the young people and a hand shot up. He said ‘Yes.’ And the youth said
‘Since you said what you said, if I were to hang up a picture up on a wall. I’ve got my hammer and I’m starting to pound on the nail head with my hammer so it
will go into the wall and I miss. And I really hit my thumb and that hurts, then what would you say.’ The elder said ‘Oh that is simple. Then we would use your
language.’”
Storytelling is also used to impart traditional values to young people growing up in a very contemporary world. “I wanted to get across to the males to never
touch or abuse or negatively say anything to any woman because for every part of our culture, the woman has a part of that,” Dearly said. “A woman is the center
of our sweat lodge. She is White Buffalo Calf. A woman brought the sacred pipe that is very special to all of us, especially to the Lakota where it still exists in
Eagle View, South Dakota. It came to us around 1,100 B.C. and the pipe is still out there that we use. If it wasn’t for women, we wouldn’t be here today. All of our
food comes from Mother Earth. Mother Earth is always nourishing us. To be a warrior, you need to remember who and what a warrior is. That was one of the
stories I was trying to get across to the people. I just wanted to create that message that warriors need to stand up and be warriors.”
Dearly teaches American Indian cultural studies and the Lakota language in the St. Paul, Minn. Public schools. He is concerned that we are gradually
losing the Native languages. “I foresee — this is only spoken by Jerry Dearly — that we are gradually losing our language,” Dearly said. “I still made two songs this
year. One was for a young boy who passed away and I made it for his family. And then I made another song for a woman on her 18th birthday. I’m going to give
her her name and then we’re going to give her her plume and then I will be singing this song that I made for her because it goes with the name that I am giving
her. The Lakota name that I am giving her is in that song. It describes what kind of person she is. While I still maintain and have my language and still came up
as a dancer as a young man and then gradually learned how to sing and still today, I still sing, I still try to do these things that way that only I know how, that my
uncles and others taught me over the years. Through songs and dances is another way to tell stories.”
Speaking of dances and songs, Dearly will be the announcer at the upcoming Wunk Sheek Pow Wow on March 28. He talked of the songs that are sung with
the drumming at a pow wow. “We have songs that have words to them,” Dearly said about the Lakota. “And these words will describe what is going on during that
particular time and the reason why we are singing that song. And the reason we are singing these songs is it could be a birthday or maybe a jingle dress song. I
think I would be kind of strapped to really sing the jingle dress song because I am Lakota and not Ojibwe. The Ojibwe people have their culture. We would
borrow the song from some old Ojibwe singer and have him join us and give him tobacco before we can properly sing that song. Those are some examples of
how the Lakota people have words in our songs because we describe the situation or the incident of why the song is being sung. In that way too, there is
communication going on there. And there is an imagery that is being set by the words of that song. And they were good for us because at one time, a lot of
people at our gatherings, celebrations and pow wows all spoke the language. Today if a singing group starts to sing the song, he knows full well they don’t
understand the language very well because, I’m sorry to say, we are losing our language. Most of those songs they are singing are going to be straight songs with
just a melody with no words.”
But without the words, the essence and meaning of those times long ago will vanish from the collective experience of generations to come.
The Wunk Sheek Spring Traditional Pow-wow will be held March 28 at the Kohl Center’s Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion, 1-10 p.m.
get the teepee poles up, we left it up to the women to bring in the particular
covering of those teepee poles. They took care of all of the work. Most of us
then went out to see what we could get for food and maybe for the warmth that
we needed. Maybe we get some firewood. Normally this guide knew exactly
where water was, which was pretty close.”
“During that time, once we got all settled and it was in the middle of July,
that night as we are all getting set to go to sleep and all of the sentries are set
up — most of the young warriors usually guard the camp — I would recap the
distance of travel from our last particular setting to this particular current
setting,” Dearly continued. “And then I would recap that history of some things
we may have seen, maybe geographically, maybe we saw something on the
land that had changed. And maybe along with the change, we would talk
about what we needed to do. I would begin to start issuing rules. But I am
issuing a particular situation of teachings that I am going to share with them
and anyone else who has a need to know. So we’re having a big pow wow and
we are actually telling stories in order to get a point across to all of the young
ones in terms of what we need to do now that we are settled there at that
particular time until it is time to move again.”
covering of those teepee poles. They took care of all of the work. Most of us
then went out to see what we could get for food and maybe for the warmth that
we needed. Maybe we get some firewood. Normally this guide knew exactly
where water was, which was pretty close.”
“During that time, once we got all settled and it was in the middle of July,
that night as we are all getting set to go to sleep and all of the sentries are set
up — most of the young warriors usually guard the camp — I would recap the
distance of travel from our last particular setting to this particular current
setting,” Dearly continued. “And then I would recap that history of some things
we may have seen, maybe geographically, maybe we saw something on the
land that had changed. And maybe along with the change, we would talk
about what we needed to do. I would begin to start issuing rules. But I am
issuing a particular situation of teachings that I am going to share with them
and anyone else who has a need to know. So we’re having a big pow wow and
we are actually telling stories in order to get a point across to all of the young
ones in terms of what we need to do now that we are settled there at that
particular time until it is time to move again.”