Living Sustainability

A Lakota prophecy was given during the hard times of the 1890s. The Sacred Hoop – the tie binding the Seven Fires of the Lakota, Nakota, Dakota Nations – had been broken by massacres, starvation and the US government’s campaign to eradicate the Buffalo Nation. The Lakota Nations are direct descendants of the Buffalo and their way of life, culture and Spirituality are dependent on this relationship. The prophecy received says, in part, that the Seventh Generation would come together to Mend the Sacred Hoop, restore the Spirit of the Nations and unite all Nations to heal our Mother Earth. Now is the time of the Seventh Generation. Wolakota (Way of the Lakota) Institute willprovide a full-immersion education to bring these youth the tools, skills, knowledge and spiritual foundation to fulfill the prophecy.

Wolakota Institute will be created in the Sacred Black Hill of South Dakota, known as ‘The Heart of Everything That Is’. As a residential institute built by the student-teacher community, it will be a global model for integrated learning and sustainability. The curriculum will include advanced technologies, renewable resource technologies as well as traditional culture. It will provide an environment for the discovery of unique, individual gifts and talents and for utilizing these gifts to build a model for sustainable global community.

The Dream

The Plans

Facility Description:
The main campus will consist of five round buildings set in a circle in keeping with Lakota tradition. A building will be set in each of the four directions and the fifth will be in the center. Each building will have a year-round garden in its center.

Central Building:
The Central Building will house administrative offices and also serve as the center for Wolakota InstituteÌs global outreach program. This program will host meetings, workshops and conferences for the exchange of knowledge and resources between Nations with the goal reaching viable, life-enhancing solutions for our collective concerns. Wolakota Institute also hopes to serve as a model and mentor for similar endeavors in other communities.

West Building:
The West Building will house the center for agriculture and ecology. It will provide access to both traditional Indigenous knowledge and state-of-the-art technologies for the renewal of the spirit of the land and restoration of ecosystems. This will include the use of innovative “green” technologies such as solar and wind energy, micro power technologies and natural water purification. Sustainable agriculture will also be learned including organic farming, perma-culture methods and ancient Indigenous farming technologies such as those still employed by the Quechua people in the Peruvian Andes, the Kogi in the Columbia and Hunza people of the Himalayas. Included are plans for restoring plant and animal families to areas in which they have been seriously impacted by development or toxins. The root of these programs will be a deep communion with and respect for the spirit of the land.

North Building:
The North Building will be the center for creative arts. This will include traditional arts such as beading, quilling, hide preparation, story telling, weaving and pottery. Programs will also be offered using the mediums of traditional and modern sculpture, painting, drawing, creative writing, jewelry design, graphic arts and music. This building will also offer communication modalities using video, computer, radio and television communications. Opening students to their creative abilities gives voice to their individuality and allows them to share their worldview. This, in turn, can show them they have a vital part to play in the spirit of global community.

East Building:
The East Building will provide the basic core curriculum required by state and federal guidelines. This will allow the students to meet university entrance standards or to enter the work force with credentials. Classes in sciences, mathematics, literature and the government-sanctioned history augment the other programs and provide an understanding of how we created todayÌs world.

South Building:
The South Building will provide access to spiritual practices and physical education. There will be an exercise facility offering integrated, cross-cultural education in the many techniques for maintaining physical health. Nutrition and food preparation will also be made available and sacred plant medicine to offer an understanding of the health offered by our plant relations. Many forms of spiritual knowledge will be shared including, yoga, Qi-gong, meditations techniques, and sacred ceremonies for the health and understanding of the sacredness of all levels of being. The Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota will be passed to the students.