The 2 Timin’ LNI Lakota Language Bowl Team

The victorious Lakota Language Bowl Team. Photos courtesy of Red Cloud Indian School.

The 2 Timin’ LNI Lakota Language Bowl Team 
By Colton Sierra '14

The final buzzer sounded as the Red Cloud Lakota Language Bowl Team took home their 2nd Championship LNI vase on Wednesday, December 18, 2013. During the championship game, the team of seniors and one freshman took the reins and defeated their biggest competition, McLaughlin, with the score of 15-1. Throughout the two years, the team only encountered two opponents who gave them a run for their money. Still, they prevailed through both tournaments with a combined 9-0 record. That leaves seven games that were solely controlled by Red Cloud.

The way the competition works is it’s testing your knowledge of basic Lakota terms and phrases. It’s two teams battling head-to-head to see which team has the wider range of vocabulary. There is a packet each team can study from to help them along the way and the packet is full of terms. The final round consisted of the judges giving a random Lakota sentence, and the two teams trying to finish the Lakota sentence properly before the other team. “It was nerve-racking.” said Kirkland Ross ‘14. “I had to think quickly about the sentence and how to finish it within the short amount of time.”

“We have awesome sentence structure and we really took advantage of Unci’s (Philomene Lakota) help,” added Savannah Jensen ‘14.

   

Red Cloud battled each team with confidence and strolled through to the championship with the surprising help of a young freshman, Stevie Cross Dog. “I didn’t think I was going to answer all of those questions.” said Cross Dog ,who added some points to boost Red Cloud to a win against McLaughlin.

   

“He was kind of unexpected but he pulled through,” said Caine Ghost Bear ‘14. “It was like he was the chosen one.” Cross Dog is the youngest player in the past two years to have actively participated in the competition, and the first to make an impact.

“There is a lot of hope for Stevie,” stated Lakota Language teacher Philomene Lakota. “He stood up to the challenge, and I hope it motivates other younger students to get involved.” Since the bulk of the team is graduating this year, Philomene Lakota is eager to find the next generation of Lakota Language Bowl Champions to continue on with the new winning tradition.