AIHEC Report

[Louis Garcia]

Hi gang:
I am back from the American Indian Higher Education Cosortium meeting in
Fargo, ND attended by 35 Indian Colleges.
I visited with a number of Lakota speakers who say susweca is the Lakota
form for dragonfly. They never heard of Ps'ko, but thought it was a bird.

Dr. Elton Lawrance gave a talk on the 1862-66 prison letters written in
Dakota that are in the Minnesota Historical Society. Some of the letters
were written by his great grandfather. He said it took him all of one
evening to translate one sentence as the terms they use are not known today.
He has the Sisseton-Wahpeton Community College at work on the project with
the Rev. Clifford Canku and Rev. Michael Simon (Presbyterians) as well as
others assisting him.

I saw a video made at Ft. Berthold showing various individuals giving the
sign language sign for a word or command, and then pronouncing the term in
Hidatsa. English sub-titles were used. It ran for about 15 or 20 minutes.
Toksta ake,
Louis Garcia