By Brenna Gerhardt, Executive Director, North Dakota Humanities Council
I want to share with you a
few of the programs your generosity made possible:
"Playing with Mahpiya [Clouds]"
Photo by Lakhol'iyapi Hohpi, Lakota Language Nest, at Sitting Bull College, Nov. 7, 2012.
On the Standing Rock Sioux
Reservation a three-year-old child is learning to speak the language of her
ancestors from an elder who is one of the remaining people in the world who can
speak fluent Lakota, an indigenous language spoken by Hunkpapa Sioux since time
unknown. The girl is taking part in a
new language immersion preschool program that seeks to ensure the wisdom of the
past is not lost for future generations.
Kristi Rendahl
Kristi Rendahl travels the
world working to end the practice of torture. She invites the most remarkable
people she meets during her travels back to her hometown of Rugby to talk about
critical issues facing the global community through the program Prairie Talks. She
started the project to connect common-sense people in the heart of North Dakota
to common-sense people from around the world who share the same interest: to
better understand ourselves and our neighbors so we can work together for a
better tomorrow.
Dr. Terrence Roberts
On September 4, 1957,
Terrance Roberts, an African American student seeking a better education was
turned away at the doors of Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas, by the
National Guard and a horde of angry white protesters who did not want to see
black students educated alongside their children. It was a pivotal moment in
America’s civil rights movement that directly involved a federal judge from
North Dakota, Ronald N. Davies. The court decisions rendered by Davies would
change the course of public school integration in our country making the dream
of equality a reality for Roberts and future generations. Today, Dr. Roberts is
involved in creating a curriculum for students across North Dakota to learn
about these events and the lessons of justice and civility they embody.
These programs and many more,
all currently sponsored by the North Dakota Humanities Council, help us fulfill
our mission to transform lives and strengthen communities by offering
educational and cultural experiences that allow everyone the opportunity to
reach their full human potential. Our ability to offer these meaningful
programs depends in large part on the generosity of a thoughtful and caring
community.
Please include the North
Dakota Humanities Council in your holiday giving so we can continue our
important work. A gift of $40, $60, $100 or more will go a long way in helping
make lifelong learning a cornerstone of life in North Dakota. Use the enclosed courtesy envelope and mail
your contribution today.
On behalf of the lives that
are charged by your generosity, thank you.
Best Wishes,
[X]
Brenna
Gerhardt, Executive Director
p.s. According to the mother
of the little girl learning Lakota, “I really see in her hope, now. We have a
drug and alcohol free home and she’s learning the language and the ceremonies. We’re
breaking the cycle; that’s the hope.” That is the power of the humanities to
transform lives and strengthen communities.
