CHILDREN FIRST LEARNING CENTER
Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Wounspe Tipi
Here you will find resources for parents and students. Check back often as this page will be updated regularly. Follow the Sicangu CDC's Facebook page for school news and announcements.
ABOUT WAKANYEJA TOKEYAHCI
Our Vision
Wakanyeja kin lakol inajin heca nake nula waun welo.
Our vision is that our children will stand with everything Lakota, and will be prepared to take on anything.
By contextualizing education through a Sicangu Lakota lens and utilizing project based learning techniques and individualized plans, we will create an educational system that works for our students and our community.
Our Approach
- Individualized Student Learning
- Project based learning in a cultural context
- Emphasis on critical thinking & problem solving
- Whole family engagement & support
We center these four parts together around wot̄akuye, the Lak̇ot̄a concept of kinship and interrelatedness. By bringing these parts together, we provide our students a transformative educational experience. They stand for everything Lak̇ot̄a. They will be academically prepared to succeed in school, career and life. They will be healthy and know how to lead. They will be fluent in the ways and language of the Lak̇ot̄a people. They will be secure in their identity. They will be the future builders of a prosperous Lak̇ot̄a nation.
Student experience alone, however, is not enough to achieve our vision. We see ourselves serving a whole school community. Not just students, but also relatives and staff at all levels of implementation will engage in a learning and growth process drawing on these four areas as well as regularly contributing to the evaluation of our school’s progress. By successfully involving our whole community, our students, families and staff will learn to be healthy community leaders with the potential for self-actualization.
Our History
Wakanyeja Tokeyahci Wounspe Tipi (Children First Learning Center) launched in August of 2020 to simultaneously address two crises currently facing the Sicangu Lakota Oyate: a failing education system and the endangerment of the Lakota Language.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe's Childcare program mapped the Rosebud Sioux reservation's fluent speakers. They identified 500 speakers at the age of 70 and above, 2 under the age of 30, and 0 under the age of 18. If younger generations do not preserve the Lakota language, it will be extinct within 10 years. Schools such as Wakanyeja Tokeyahci are instrumental in preserving our Lakota language.
Wakanyeja Tokeyahci has entered a two year space sharing agreement with the Boys and Girls Club of Rosebud to use their Mission, SD facility. WT will have access to a large classroom space, a certified commercial grade kitchen, a large gym, a multimedia space and a library room.
By co-locating with the Boys and Girls Club, students of WT will have access to excellent and affordable after-school programming, right in the same facility.
STAFF
Sage Fast Dog
Sage Fast Dog
Sage Fast Dog
Founder and Director
Cell Phone: 605-828-6446
Sage D. Fast Dog Sr. is Sicangu (Burnt Thigh) under the Titunwan Oyate (Prairie Dwellers People) of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires). He was raised on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, home of the Burnt Thigh people, also where he attended elementary school, secondary s
Founder and Director
Cell Phone: 605-828-6446
Sage D. Fast Dog Sr. is Sicangu (Burnt Thigh) under the Titunwan Oyate (Prairie Dwellers People) of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires). He was raised on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, home of the Burnt Thigh people, also where he attended elementary school, secondary school, and graduate school. He is a graduate of St. Francis Indian School and completed undergraduate and graduate school at Sinte Gleska University, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education and Lakota Studies, alongside a master’s degree in Education. He taught Lakota Studies at Todd County Middle School for 11 years, prior to applying for a fellowship with NISN in 2016. He successfully completed 13 years as an educator for Todd County School District and left the district in 2019 to become the first ever Director and Head of School for the Wakanyeja Ki Tokeyaci Lakota Immersion Elementary School Program, located on the Rosebud Reservation, and opening its doors in Fall of 2020. This school has always been a dream of his-- to be able to share the richness of the Lakota language, history and culture today with you; he is beyond excited! He is very active in the community and has most recently been elected by the people into a leadership role on the TCSD school board. Sage is a traditional dancer on the powwow trail and takes part in Lakota spiritual way of life along with his 4 children. He proudly shares his home with his wife in Mission, S.D.
Shanice Nez
Sage Fast Dog
Sage Fast Dog
Educator
Hello, my name is Shanice Nez. I am the Kindergarten Educator for the Wakanyeja Ki Tokeyahci School. I went to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for four years for Biological Science. I am continuing my education at Sinte Gleska University. As I found opportunities to volunteer with Indigenous yout
Educator
Hello, my name is Shanice Nez. I am the Kindergarten Educator for the Wakanyeja Ki Tokeyahci School. I went to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for four years for Biological Science. I am continuing my education at Sinte Gleska University. As I found opportunities to volunteer with Indigenous youth in the Omaha area, I found a passion in teaching and mentorship. I have been teaching in Early Childhood Education for three years now. I have loved every year, even more as I’ve grown into my role as a teacher. My teaching philosophy is to create an excellent learning environment by fostering positivity, creating a safe and inclusive space, fostering identity and culture, and allowing students to explore their creativity in fun and engaging activities.
Carm Shouldis
Foster Cournoyer-Hogan
Foster Cournoyer-Hogan
Educator
carmelita.shouldis@sicangucorp.com
Han mitakuyepi! Carmelita (she/her/hers) Shouldis emačiyapi. Inawaye kin Barbara Spotted Owl ečiyapi nahan atewaye kin Clifford (Cliff) Shouldis ečiyapi. Čuwewaye kin Kendra e na Kera e na Kris e na Jade ewičakiyapi. Tiblowaye kin Donovan ečiyapi. Makizita wakpa hematanhan nahan Mission, SD el
Educator
carmelita.shouldis@sicangucorp.com
Han mitakuyepi! Carmelita (she/her/hers) Shouldis emačiyapi. Inawaye kin Barbara Spotted Owl ečiyapi nahan atewaye kin Clifford (Cliff) Shouldis ečiyapi. Čuwewaye kin Kendra e na Kera e na Kris e na Jade ewičakiyapi. Tiblowaye kin Donovan ečiyapi. Makizita wakpa hematanhan nahan Mission, SD el wathi. Waniyetu wikčemna nunpa sam na mašakpe. Sičanmaǧu Lakóta Winyan. Wakanyeja ki Tokeyaȟči Wounspe Tipi ekta wowaši ečhamun. Woalí wanži wounspewičhawakiye.
I value the identity and voice of our Wakanyeja in their complete authentic Lakóta selves!
Foster Cournoyer-Hogan
Foster Cournoyer-Hogan
Foster Cournoyer-Hogan
Lakota Foods Coordinator
foster.cournoyerhogan@sicangucorp.com
Hau Mitakuyepi Foster Cournoyer Hogan emačiyapelo nahaŋ čaŋmaza wakpala emataŋhaŋ yelo Inawaye kiŋ Beth Hogan ečiyapi nahaŋ atewaye kiŋ Ev Felix Jr. eciyapi nahaŋ misuŋkawaye kiŋ William ečiyapelo. Stanford Owayawa wankatuya wouŋspe ewakihuŋni yelo Duluth mnisota owayawa wankat
Lakota Foods Coordinator
foster.cournoyerhogan@sicangucorp.com
Hau Mitakuyepi Foster Cournoyer Hogan emačiyapelo nahaŋ čaŋmaza wakpala emataŋhaŋ yelo Inawaye kiŋ Beth Hogan ečiyapi nahaŋ atewaye kiŋ Ev Felix Jr. eciyapi nahaŋ misuŋkawaye kiŋ William ečiyapelo. Stanford Owayawa wankatuya wouŋspe ewakihuŋni yelo Duluth mnisota owayawa wankatuya wablawa yelo. Waŋna Lakol Woyute Kiŋ Coordinator hemača yelo.
Hello Relatives, my name is Foster Cournoyer Hogan and I am from Iron Wood Creek near Parmelee in the Rosebud Reservation. My parents are Beth Hogan and Ev Felix Jr and I have a younger brother named William. I graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Native American Studies with a minor in Education Research and Policy. Currently, I am getting my Masters in Tribal Administration and Governance at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Preparing Our Classroom
WE ARE NOW SIĊAŊĠU CO!
We have always worked as part of a holistic ecosystem with a shared mission and shared values, but now we are making the relationship between our organizations more explicit and intentional. Learn more by visiting our new website. This website will remain active in the short term, but will be phased out in the coming months.