For the Lakota
by 7th and 8th Grade Community Service Club Members
Good Afternoon! We are the seventh and eighth grade community service club. This year we have been focusing on Native American heritage. More specifically, we have been focusing on the Sioux YMCA and their interesting history.
Good Afternoon! We are the seventh and eighth grade community service club. This year we have been focusing on Native American heritage. More specifically, we have been focusing on the Sioux YMCA and their interesting history.
We are collecting art supplies to send to the Sioux YMCA. Read more about the art drive and how you can help.
It was started by a group of Native young men after they had been jailed for many years because of a battle they participated in with settlers in Minnesota. The only people who visited them during the fifteen years they were in prison were YMCA volunteers. When they returned home, they founded their own YMCA, which is run by a Lakota Board of Directors.
We learned that the Lakota prefer to be referred to by this name rather than as “Sioux,” which was a name given to them by white settlers. The Y, however, has kept its name in honor of the way in which it was founded.
It was started by a group of Native young men after they had been jailed for many years because of a battle they participated in with settlers in Minnesota. The only people who visited them during the fifteen years they were in prison were YMCA volunteers. When they returned home, they founded their own YMCA, which is run by a Lakota Board of Directors.
We learned that the Lakota prefer to be referred to by this name rather than as “Sioux,” which was a name given to them by white settlers. The Y, however, has kept its name in honor of the way in which it was founded.
One of the Advisory Board members from the Y came to speak at Town Meeting in early September. She sparked our interest about Native Americans in general, and we decided to have a conference call with Carol Mann, the Director of the Sioux YMCA. From her, we learned about what life is like on the reservation and how we can help the residents.
During the first few months of school, we watched a movie called Smoke Signals which was recommended to us by Ms. Mann. This movie was about two young Native American men named Thomas and Victor. They went to collect the ashes of Victor’s father and ended up becoming good friends. The movie gave us a good idea of what life on a reservation is like.
In order to learn more about the Lakota and their history, we watched multiple videos. Through some of them we learned about the true story of Thanksgiving, which we recommend you research. We watched others on Native American history and culture. We picked an interesting Buzzfeed video to share with the other students in middle school at Town Meeting.
The video was about young descendants with Native American ancestry reading and critiquing children’s books on the story of Thanksgiving. They found the stories to be untrue, prejudiced and inaccurate. The books portrayed the Native Americans as simplistic and uncivilized. They failed to mention the countless peace treaties the settlers broke and their enslaving of Native Americans. The books did not portray the real story of Thanksgiving.
In conclusion, this was a great learning experience for us.
In conclusion, this was a great learning experience for us.
More USN News
List of 3 news stories.
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Middle School Quiz Bowl Team competes at National Championship
On Friday, May 9, members of the MS Quiz Bowl team traveled to Chicago to compete against schools from across the country in the National Academic Quiz Tournament Middle School National Championship.Read More -
Sandidge named Shmerling Chair for Excellence in Teaching
Sixth Grade English Teacher Katie Reen Sandidge assumes the role of USN’s first endowed chair, named in honor of a Distinguished Alumnus and former Board of Trustees President.Read More -
HS hosts annual awards day
High School faculty closed the academic year with a special tribute to seniors and recognition of stand-out students during the annual award assembly on Friday, May 9.Read More
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2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.