Wakanyeja Kin Wana Ku Pi (The Children are Coming Home)
The Lakota Nation’s access to sacred Bear Butte was lost more than a century ago. In early 2024, the Cheyenne River Youth Project restored access by acquiring the land it calls Wakanyeja Kin Wana Ku Pi, which means “the children are coming home” in Lakota.
The film shares the story of CRYP’s historic purchase and explores how restoring access to sacred sites is essential for Native communities. Viewers will travel with Lakota youth from the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation to Wakanyeja Kin Wana Ku Pi. They will climb Bear Butte, descend into the depths of Wind Cave, visit Devils Tower National Monument and camp on the open, windswept prairie. Along the way, they will learn how the land connects Lakota people with their ancestors, ceremonies and traditional life ways — a connection that has the power to heal the massive intergenerational scars left by historical trauma.
Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count)
Welcome to the Cheyenne River Youth Project. Come with us into the heart of our circle, where you’ll meet our kids, parents, elders, artists, and partners. You’ll discover why art is so central to Lakota culture. You’ll experience how we are reclaiming spaces in our community. You’ll learn how we are revitalizing our language, ceremonies, and life ways through our own contemporary version of the Winter Count. And, you’ll share our joy as we bring to life our stories, truths, and messages for our people.
Lakota in America – Short Film Documentary
For a hundred years, it was virtually illegal to be Lakota. The Native American tribe, known for its chiefs Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud, was legally dispossessed of its religion, its spiritual practices, and much of its language, starting in the late 19th century. All Native American tribes were. Until 1978 and the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, generations of Lakota were raised without access to their culture. Now, the Cheyenne River Youth Project is working with a determined generation of young Lakota to create a stronger economic and cultural future—and they’re using their Lakota heritage to get there.
This short-film was produced by Square as part of their For Every Dream series.