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Lakota language documentary to premiere March 29 at Bellevue University

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Lakota language documentary to premiere March 29 at Bellevue University

Mar 18, 2024 | 8:17 pm ET
By Paul Hammel
Lakota language documentary to premiere March 29 at Bellevue University
Description
Each spring, the Bluebird Cultural Initiative sponsors a hike up Black Elk Peak in the Black Hills of South Dakota to celebrate the "return of the thunder beings," or the return of spring. (Courtesy of the Bluebird Cultural Initiative)

A documentary on the Lakota language, “Oyate Woyaka,” will premiere March 29 at Bellevue University’s Criss Auditorium.

The film features Lakota elders, fluent in their ancestral language, using traditional culture and spirituality to revitalize the speaking of Lakota after the language fell on the verge of extinction.

The organizations, Bluebird Cultural Initiative and Speaking of Happy, are sponsoring the free screening at 5:30 p.m. March 29 at the Humanities Center on campus.

“We are very proud of this film and have been committed to its making,” said Nicole Benegas, executive director of Bluebird Cultural Initiative, an Omaha-based nonprofit.

“Preserving our language is key to our culture,” Benegas added.

A question and answer session with the directors of the documentary will follow the showing.

Those interested in attending can registering for the event here.