UNO Tribal Management and Emergency Services Hosts Sixth Annual Dhegiha Language Conference

Omaha – As the UNO Emergency Services Program continues to gain awareness on campus, and in the Omaha community, partnerships continue to flourish. One of the most recent advancements is the addition of the concentration and undergraduate minor in tribal management and emergency services and a partnership with the Tribal Management and Emergency Services Program (TMES).

July 21 and 22, 2016, brought an exciting event to UNO’s campus: the Sixth Annual Dhegiha Language Conference. The conference was held in coordination with TMES and held in the UNO Community Engagement Center. The theme of the Conference was “Dancing as One,” which represents tribal unity. The tribes represented at the workshop included Osage, Ponca, Northern Ponca, Quapaw, Kaw, and Omaha.

The loss of traditional language is a major issue in Indian Country. Tribes who attend the conference share the same historical language and use the annual conference as a way to revive and preserve their traditional dialect. The conference also included speakers focusing on language and culture, Handgame, traditional dance, the election of new board members, and an annual meeting. The speakers gave presentations on the importance of preserving the Dhegiha dialect, which encourages more natives to speak their historical language.

Another important aspect of the conference was playing the traditional Handgame, which is often played at social events. The Handgame has been described as relatively simple but can quickly become intense. Handgame is played with two pairs of bones, one marked with stripes and one unmarked. There are two teams, one that hides and one that guesses. The hiding team tries to distract the opposing team with traditional instruments while passing the bones to the beat of the drum. Each round ends when both pairs of bones have been discovered. If a hider is guessed, he must surrender a stick. The winning team receives a stick at the end of each round. The game ends when one team holds all of the sticks.

On the last day of the conference, a traditional meal consisting of milkweed soup, fry bread and a berry dessert pudding called wojapi, was prepared and served by an Omaha Elder. Prior to the meal, tribal elders offered a prayer to begin the festivities. Following the meal, a traditional dance was held in the UNO Sapp Fieldhouse. Participants in the dance wore traditional tribal regalia. Drums were placed and played in the middle of the fieldhouse floor and the dancers performed around them. Conference attendees were joined by many members of the Omaha community.

The Tribal Management and Emergency Services Program will be hosting the second annual UNO Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) workshop on September 7 and 8, 2016, in the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center. This conference will focus on the declaration process, 638 contracting, as well as other topics relevant to the field of emergency management.