Buffalo Nation - 6940 views

The meaning of TANKA
By Mark K. Tilsen, former assistant director of marketing

Bookmark and Share

In Lakota, Tanka means large or great. It changes depending on how it is used when spoken. What Tanka means to me is a little different. When I see people doing good for themselves and their families, that is Tanka.

When I see people saying good words and backing it up with good actions -- when there is no separation in someone's belief and their reality -- that is Tanka.

I was taught that at the last stage of life, our elders leave this world with a lot of questions, a lot of uncertainty. I sometimes wonder, what are the kinds of questions our elders have? Are the lives of the people going to get better or worse? Will our language still live? Did the teachings they left behind take hold in our hearts?

There are many people doing great works for all of our Peoples, and it is my wish to share an example.

Who is TANKA?


I first heard about the language classes that Tusweca Tiospaye (Dragonfly Community) is holding this summer (on Pine Ridge Reservation) by talking a friend of mine who lives off the rez. He brought his family to Pine Ridge for ceremony, and while he was helping out, he needed a place for his children to be while he was busy during the day.

He took them to several different youth camps, but he said they did not reflect the values that he wanted to teach his children. He found Tusweca Tiospaye and saw that it was a perfect fit for what he wanted for his children.

"Tusweca Tiospaye has been created to develop a strong, healthy, and prosperous environment in which Lakota wakanyeja (children) and their tiwahe (families) can learn and incorporate the Lakota language into their daily lives."
-- Excerpt from Tusweca Tiospaye flyer

Our children now have a safe and welcoming place where they can be introduced to their own language so they will always carry it with them. Mike Carlow, Jr., is one of the founders of the organization, and he is a young man who many people on my rez have much respect for.

Pine Ridge is one of the last, great reservoirs for our Lakota language. But like all bodies of water during a drought, it is drying up. The average age of a speaker is nearly 65, and only 14 percent of our people are speaking the language right now.

There may come a time when one of our elders stands up to address the people in Lakota at a gathering, and no one there can understand them. We are so close to losing our language, it's scary. But there is hope.

A great teacher once said, "You cannot have language without the culture; you cannot separate the two."

Lakota language a gift


I was told that in our spiritual way, the Creator can understand all languages, but our Lakota language was a gift to us. Inside of our language, there are teachings and understanding that cannot be translated. They reflect the Lakota perspective of life and our way of being. It is a gift worth fighting for!

Languages that youth do not speak, die. It is within the grasp of this generation to save the language or lose it. Tusweca Tiospaye is one community taking a stand to preserve our way of life, and for that, they have my respect.

They are a new organization with a great mission ahead of them. It is my hope that if I make it to being an elder, I can leave this life behind knowing our language will endure.

The work Mike Carlow, Jr., and the others at Tusweca Tiospaye are doing can touch many lives for the better. To me, that is what being Tanka is.

I ask everyone who reads this to think about the examples they see in their communities. Who are your examples?

What does being Tanka mean to you?

No facebook? Leave comments here.
Name/Alias
Comments

Previous Comments
KathyD on Wed Nov 28, 2012 8:45:14
Our current US culture is so hurried that building and sustaining healthy communities is difficult. But we must or we shall perish. I will spread the word about your products and work in the hopes that others will be touched and help.
Mauri McEneary'Shea on Thu Nov 24, 2011 20:9:54
How wonderful, I have always had great admiration for the Native Americans, the situation they were placed in and help being denied for centuries. When Americans went to other countries to try and stop the 'ethnic cleansing ' didn't they realize they had done the same thing in their own country and it is still going on. I wish all of the Native nations the best in thier efforts and will pray and hold them in my heart as long as I am on this earth. Mauri
BR on Fri Oct 14, 2011 23:21:40
I don't know if it is Lakota or not, but I learned at one time that to some 'wakan tanka' was a term used for the great spirit. and that in that tradition was a story about the people coming up to earth on the back of a turtle. and that 'wakan tanka' can mean great spirit and turtle at the same time and I love that creation story so much and choose to believe it is my own although I only have a little Shawnee and Welsh and German. For me Tanka is the great oneness!
Love Leading on Fri Oct 14, 2011 22:17:13
Tanka to me is finding an elder who speaks Truth and then lives it in the face of others.
Sharon Musgrave on Mon Aug 15, 2011 6:8:50
Tanka means to me to be able to eat what I enjoy without fear of being poisoned by trash chemicals and additives. I gave up processed meats for a month and my hypertension dropped to nearly nothing.
Kat on Thu Feb 24, 2011 22:57:27
These Tanka bites provide the purrfect ,well-rounded snack...yum!
Lisa Kestrel on Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:14:19
How are the tanka slaughtered? With a mobile slaughter truck? I don't want to eat the meat of animals which have been driven live on trucks after having lived all their lives in the free.
White Eagle on Tue Dec 14, 2010 20:55:36
This moment, this moment, this moment is so precious...indeed, it is all that there is-- and it is SOOOOOOOOOO Big! Super TANKA!

OIHAKE WANIL
Guest on Wed Jul 21, 2010 15:25:5
Hi! I love your bars! As an avid runner and healthy eater, this bar is perfect for my active lifestyle. I am also the Natural Products Buyer here at Ballinger Thriftway in Seattle, Washington and just brought the bars in to my store. This is definitely one of the top new items on my list in 2010. I hope to sell many boxes! Do you know who your broker is out here in Seattle? I'd love to get a demo going.

Thank you,
Loreen
Kimimina Scott on Tue Mar 30, 2010 0:32:1
I would luuuv 2 eat better... an get rid of this commod bod!
Amy on Wed Dec 2, 2009 0:55:6
Beautiful teachings and language.
Blessings of peace, happiness, radiant health and wellbeing for all peoples. I hope we have an indigenous woman president in America someday for the healing of nature and all life. First Peoples are deeply rooted in the balance and reciprocal relations between people and nature.

Amy Eisenberg, Ph.D.
Sonoma County Indian Health Project
USA
Tanka Team on Fri Nov 20, 2009 21:46:18
Yes, Larry. Wasna is similar to pemmican. However, the Lakota traditionally make it with choke cherries. Thanks so much for your support! Wopila
Iroquois.... Larry S. on Fri Nov 20, 2009 16:51:15
I enjoyed talking with Eugene on the phone today ... then I went to the web site .... I am but a poor white human being who has admired the Lakota culture and its people for years ... I had the privilige of meeting Floyd Westerman and coming to know him and consider each other friends ... I struggle with learning the Lakota language ... I can speak but very little and understand MORE than I can speak ... alas there are so few Lakota Oyate here in Wisconsin ... but I shall keep trying ... am enthused about trying your samples and becoming a event seller for same .... Pilamaye for what you are doing and for your product. I read the bars are combined with cranberries ... does this mean it could be considered a kind of PEMICAN????/ Larry