"Way of Life" summer camp

Land of 10,000 Stories:  Reviving the dying Dakota language

By Boyd Huppert"I see this as we're trying to rebuild that tiwahe and tiospaye, that family and that extended family component," said Teresa Peterson, the executive director of the project known as Dakota Wicohan--meaning "Way of Life."

"So what you're seeing is that reclaiming of kinship, in the way that we treat each other. That's the way of life," explained Peterson.

Dakota Wicohan recieves its funding primarily through state and federal grants, including monetary contributions from the Minnesota Legacy Amendment administered through the Minnesota Historical Society.

Gianna Strong is among those learning the language through the summer day camp. "I can eventually pass it down to my children," she said. "I think it's a big responsibility."