WEBVTT

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"Whereas."

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I did not desire in childhood
to be a part of this,

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but desired most of
all to be a part--

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a piece, combined with
others to make up a whole--

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some but not all of something.

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In Lakota it's hanké, a
piece or part of anything.

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Like the creek trickling behind
my Auntie's house, where Uncle

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built her a bridge to
cross from bank to bank,

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not far from a grassy
clearing with three teepees--

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a place to gather.

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She holds three-day workshops
on traditional arts.

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Young people from
Kyle and Potato Creek

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arrive one-by-one,
eager to participate.

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"They have the option,
my Auntie says,

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"to sleep at home and
return in the morning."

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But by and large, they'll
stay and camp, even

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during South Dakota winters--

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the comfort of being together.

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I think of plains, winds,
snow drifts, ice, and limbs--

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the exposure.

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And when I slide my
arms into a wool coat

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and put my hand to the
doorknob, ready to brave

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the sub-zero dark, someone
says, "Be careful out there.

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Always consider the
snow your friend.

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Think badly of it,
snow will burn you."

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I walk out remembering
that for millennia, we

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have called ourselves Lakota,
meaning friend or ally,

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this relationship to the other--

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some but not all.

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Still, our piece to everything.