Contributors to Wíyouŋkihipi

With the help of many voices, Wíyouŋkihipi is able to be a platform for Dakota/Lakota voices to publish and pass on our teachings to future generations. Our goal for Wíyouŋkihipi is to honor and educate through the lens of Dakota culture; to inspire the next generations by showing we are capable! We can and will elevate our Dakota experiences through exceptional published works and educational resources that give back to the people so that we can all thrive.

 

Robert Swaney-Bordeaux

Robert Swaney-Bordeaux

Author • He/Him

Prairie Bones

Upcoming Release Fall 2021


Prairie Bones
is a collection of poems about reconnecting with Lakota kin, culture, and learning what it means to stand alongside all the relatives of this land to fight for a better future. Author Robert Swaney-Bordeaux grew up disconnected from his Lakota family, a disconnection caused by the continued effects of the colonial systems implemented since European contact on Turtle Island. After many years of trying to find his way home, Swaney-Bordeaux connected with his father’s family and Sicangu Lakota Oyate on the Rosebud Reservation. Prairie Bones offers small glimpses of this journey as Swaney-Bordeaux pieces together connection and relationship with ancestors, land, himself, and Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ.


Robert Swaney-Bordeaux is a Sicangu Lakota writer and activist from South Dakota. Growing up disconnected from his Lakota family, his life has been a journey to find his way back home to the Rosebud Reservation. In his writing, he touches on this journey connecting with his Lakota roots as he learns from Uŋčí Makȟá what it means to be a good relative and ancestor. He shares openly about his life through his books, content shared online and speaking. Outside of writing, Swaney-Bordeaux is active in carrying on his ancestors’ legacy of fighting for sovereignty through his activism around abolition of colonial systems.

His previous work includes his debut poetry collection Lovely Seeds (2017), Quiet Remnants (2018), a short story in the anthology Disconnected (2018), and various poems found in previous editions of South Dakota Poetry Society’s literary magazine Pasque Petals.”

Gillian Joseph

Gillian Joseph

Author • They/Them

Protector of the Beads: a Dakhota Poem

Upcoming Release Fall 2021


Protector of the Beads: a Dakhota Poem
is an empowering book for youth that celebrates Oceti Sakowin culture and the Dakhota language. This epic poem recounts the story of a young Dakhota person who has been chosen by their ancestors to recover the beads that were stolen from their people. But first, the young person must fully understand their talent as a beader and embark on a journey to visit a knowledge keeper. Protector of the Beads: a Dakhota Poem deals with complex topics such as colonialism and healing through storytelling that is meant to be read out loud and encourage imagination



Gillian Joseph
is a 2-Spirit Ihanktonwan and Mdewakantonwan Dakota storyteller who grew up as a guest on Waxhaw and Catawba lands. They work in Indigenous health education, and are a folio editor at
Anomaly and a member of the 2021 Tin House Summer Workshop for poetry. Gillian enjoys spending time near mni + trying to figure out what their dreams mean.

Tanáǧidan To Wíŋ (Tara Perron)

Tanáǧidan To Wíŋ (Tara Perron)

Author • She/Her

Paint My Dakota Red

Upcoming Release Fall 2021


Paint My Dakota Red
is a book teaching all peoples to be guardians of the earth. When we treat the earth and all living things as a relative, only then can we grow together and provide a healthier, and stronger earth for future generations. We all share that responsibility, and must act now!

Grandson struggles with finding a connection to the natural world. He seeks assistance from his Grandfather, who shares his vivid vision of the powers that exist all around us. With this understanding, Grandson cares for the earth and her many lifeforms. Paint My Dakota Red teaches us how to live in balance with the world around through an understanding of wódakhota (the path to universal harmony by loving one another as kindred spirits).


 

Tanáǧidan To wíŋ is a Dakota and Ojibwe mother of two sons. She grew up learning from the earth, animals, and her elders while living on her traditional homelands of Saint Paul, Minnesota. She believes in the healing power of art and storytelling. She spends her days dancing in her garden and singing to the moon.

Her previous published works include Takoza: Walks With the Blue Moon Girl, Animals Of Khéya Wíta (Dakota & Ojibwe) both published by Black Bears & Blueberries Publishing. She has upcoming publications with the Minnesota Historical Society Press (Our Sacred Land of Pežúta) & the Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye (My Ate’s Star Family, Buffalo Runs Free, Mato’s Winter Adventure, Moon Sings Me Home).

Official Website

Tracy Hauff

Tracy Hauff

Author • She/Her

Far From the Forest

Upcoming Release Fall 2021


Far From the Forest
 is the first book in a children’s series about the adventures of Kimimila, a monarch butterfly. Kimimila (Mimi) has emerged from her chrysalis deep in the forest of Michoacán, Mexico. She is befriended by Juan, a tree frog, who helps her prepare for her journey to America. Mimi follows the migration path of her ancestors but is blown off course by a thunderstorm. Disoriented, she crashes into a chokecherry tree on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where she is discovered by a young Lakota woman.


 

Tracy Hauff is an Oglala Lakota woman of words. Her poem “Touch the Pen” is published in the Articles of a Treaty Poetry Chapbook, and her most recent poem, “The Sunflower,” is currently in an exhibit at the Akta Lakota Museum.

Having great respect and admiration for Uncí Maká, Tracy is passionate about saving the rainforests, endangered species, and occasionally, a spider. Reading and writing are vital to her happiness, but laughing with her takojas is bona fide bliss.

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Ownership

Wíyouŋkihipi is owned and managed by Spirit Lake Dakota artist Marlena Myles. Her professional work includes children’s books, fabrics, animations and fine art in galleries such as the Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Museum of Russian Art, Red Cloud Heritage Center and the Minnesota Museum of American Art to name a few. Please visit her website for further information about her work.

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Wóphida Tháŋka • Special Thanks

Wóphida tháŋka to Dawí for his care with the Dakhóta language.

Thank you to the Minnesota Humanities Center for the support: This work is funded in part by the Minnesota Humanities Center with money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

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Contact the Contributors

Please use the form below to contact any of the contributors. Wíyouŋkihipi will put you in touch.

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