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05 Wolakota Project Video Transcripts and URLs.docx · WP-0170. Imported source record; individual Elder status and tribal affiliation are not inferred.
Reviewed JAG competency and OSEU connections
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Interview transcript
My Christian name is Sidney Byrd. My middle name used to be Oliver, but I changed it to Howard… because I got sick and tired of initialing it. My Lakota name is Hoksila Waste: good boy. It was a name of affection given to me by my grandmother. And then, just before I went into…many of them already knew me by that name... just before I went to the Army during World War, a naming ceremony was held in my honor. They gave me the name Hoksila Waste: good boy. They couldn't tie the eagle feather because my hair was too short… so I carried it. In those days, one of the most popular social dances was the Rabbit Dance. We no longer do that… but I led the dancers in this old community hall. We used to do the Rabbit Dance… and I let the dancers and… my dance partner was, Rosebud Sicangu: CANT UNDERSTAND. I've never seen a girl with hazel eyes before. She had green eyes. I called her Green Eyes. So she went and got cartons…tobacco and… gave it to the LAKOTA WORD, the crier… gave the tobacco… and also gave the tobacco to those that sang. LAKOTA SONG. That's my song… and I led the dancers. Hoksila Waste: good boy. He's going to defend the land, the flag, the country… and he's going into battle… defend the land… he's going to the army. That's what the word says.