OCETI SAKOWIN – 
THE PEOPLE OF THE SEVEN COUNCIL FIRES

Oyate – The People – Tell Their Stories

Trappers and traders and settlers were not the first people in the center of North America  (the lands that include South Dakota).

When the Europeans arrived, there were people and cultures in place. They call themselves Oyate (The People). They are widely known as the Sioux, or as the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota. 

Oceti Sakowin The People of the Seven Council Fires looks at the lives, past and present, of Oyate. It features their stories in their words. The program includes historic photographs and modern depictions of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota.

The program includes interviews with:
•	Clifford Canku, Dakota Studies Instructor at Sisseton Wahpeton College, Sisseton Wahpeton Tribal Area.
•	Dr. Craig Howe, Graduate Studies Instructor, Oglala Lakota College, Pine Ridge Reservation. 
•	Albert White Hat Sr., Professor of Lakota Language at Sinte Gleska University, Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
•	Ione Quigley, Chairperson, Lakota Studies at Sinte Gleska University, Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
•	Jerome Kills Small, Instructor of American Indian Studies, University of South Dakota, Vermillion. 
•	Kevin Locke, Native American performer (flute, hoop dance), Lakota Performing Arts, Standing Rock Reservation, Wakpala.
•	Webster Two Hawk, three times past Chairman of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. 
•	Russell Eagle Bear, Tribal Council, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Norris. 
	
The original music for the program is written and performed by Kevin Locke, a Lakota. The program was written and produced by James Sprecher, Executive Producer of SDPB. The narrator is Richard Lundy of Macy, Neb., a Lakota-Norwegian educator 

About the Program
Oceti Sakowin is a production of South Dakota Public Broadcasting. The program is part of a project funded by the South Dakota Department of Education as part of an initiative to improve awareness of Native American culture in the educational system. 

Find Out More
For more about Oceti Sakowin The People of the Seven Council Fires and about Oyate, go to the website under “Learning” at SDPB.org. 

About South Dakota Public Broadcasting
South Dakota Public Broadcasting is a statewide multi-media network offering quality entertainment and lifelong learning via Television, Radio, Internet and Education & Outreach. For information about SDPB and the Friends of SDPB, go to SDPB.org or call 800-456-0766.

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