Changing minds through education
By Sidney Fox
Martin, S.D. - Located on the seventh district of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, near Bennett and Shannon County, surrounded by the subtle rolling plains of southwestern South Dakota and under a simply breathtaking sky resides CAIRNS, the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies. The location is commonly referred to as Wingsprings by the patrons of annually held workshops, as well as the founder and director of CAIRNS, Dr. Craig Howe.
Raised on the same land where Wingsprings resides today, Dr. Howe left South Dakota to attend the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and eventually the University of Michigan where he attained Ph.D.s in Anthropology and Architecture. Along with teaching stints at various universities and colleges across the country, Dr. Howe became the assistant director for cultural resources of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and eventually the director of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History at the Newberry Library in Chicago, Ill. Dr. Howe knew he always wanted to use his education to return home.
“I wanted to live on the land [I grew up on], but I didn’t want to do the work I grew up doing, ranching ... Ever since I left it was how could I use the academic degrees to come back [to South Dakota],” said Dr. Howe.
After the tragic death of his father in 2002, Dr. Howe returned to the rural plains of southwestern South Dakota and established CAIRNS in 2004.
As a nonprofit research and education center, CAIRNS aims to advance knowledge and understanding of American Indian communities through the development of quality educational resources and innovative projects that acknowledge and incorporate tribal perspectives.
Annual workshops are held each summer at Wingsprings, where educators at all levels, from middle school teachers to college professors, and college students come together to learn about Lakota culture. Patrons are required to pay one hundred dollars to attend the workshops and the South Dakota Humanities Council covers the rest of general fees. Participants are either nominated by other educators or apply to attend the workshops via a form available on the CAIRNS website. Through these workshops, patrons travel around the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian Reservations and learn first hand the history of the Lakota people.
The size of the workshops are kept small, usually around five patrons, to facilitate learning of the Lakota culture and to create strong bonds between participants.
“You can’t plan what happens,” said Dr. Howe. “You get people that [are] like minded in a way ... who wouldn’t have [met] otherwise."
“I went as a student and had interaction with professors, not only on an educational level, but on a friendship level that will last a lifetime,” said Marie Giago, a two time patron of the CAIRNS curriculum workshops. “My time [at Wingsprings] has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had. You create not only a bond with people there, but a connection with the land, the culture, and the history.”
Advancements in technology over the last decade, particularly with the growth of the internet and wi-fi technology, have made the creation of CAIRNS possible.
“Ten years, 15 years ago you couldn’t have done or conceived of something like this. But once the internet was here then I realized we could have research center out here,” said Dr. Howe.
Almost as inconceivable is where CAIRNS will be in another 10 years. As a primary force in the initiative to improve race relations between Native and Anglo Americans in South Dakota, CAIRNS is a much needed voice and places a lot of stock in the generations of tomorrow.
The educational curriculum workshops have helped Dr. Scott Fleming, an associate professor at South Dakota State University and director of the American Indian Education and Cultural Center, develop lesson plans that incorporate the Native American perspective and its complex nature. Dr. Fleming now strives to incorporate culture in the academic system with a focus on the complex and diverse Native American perspective.
“Lakota ... culture [is] very complex. There’s no such thing as Sioux Nation, [each respective tribe is] complex and diverse even in the Oceti Sakowin [the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota nations],” said Dr. Fleming.
“We start with the kids and the intent is not to make them better kids, it is that we in South Dakota [aim to be] better citizens. When you’re a better educated citizen you relate better with people,” said Dr. Howe.
Only time will be able to measure the effectiveness of CAIRNS and the leaders it has tutored but hopefully it will lead to a future as bright as the serene landscape of the western South Dakotan plains are beautiful.
