Languages and Cross-Cultural Studies

"Hau mitakuyepi, The following dictionary is very unique. The words within these pages have been collected from Dakotah language speakers from the Lake Traverse Reservation in northeastern South Dakota. The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, the name for the tribal members of the Lake Traverse Reservation, speak a dialect of the Dakotah language that is unique to this specific group of the collective Oceti Sakowin, which is sometimes referred to as the 'Great Sioux Nation'. Although the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate have a distinct dialect, there are differences within the dialect; certain words may only be used in particular areas of the reservation..."-- Preface

The language of the Dakota people was first put into written form by missionaries who lived within and learned from the Dakota community in the Minnesota River valley. John P. Williamson (1835-1917), son of missionary Dr. Thomas S. Williamson, grew up speaking both English and Dakota, then spent most of his adult life as a missionary on the Santee Reservation in northeastern Nebraska. In 1902, he produced An English-Dakota Dictionary.

In language as perceptive as it is poignant, poet Gwen Nell Westerman builds a world in words that reflects the past, present, and future of the Dakota people. An intricate balance between the singularity of personal experience and the unity of collective longing, Follow the Blackbirds speaks to the affection and appreciation a contemporary poet feels for her family, community, and environment.