Introduction

This project is based on the indigenous plants of the Dakotas–their names and uses by the Sicangu Lakota people, and secondary compounds produced by those plants that may be of current interest.  The foundation of the research is built on the work of Father Eugene Buechel (1874-1954) who moved to the reservation of Rosebud in 1902, and spent the rest of his life at the Rosebud Reservation and the adjacent Pine Ridge Reservation.  (The Lakota-English dictionary published in 1970 was based on his orthography.)  All Sincangu uses of the plants comes from Buechel's work (see references) and all South Dakota distribution data come from Van Bruggen's Vasular Plants of South Dakota, and the USDA Plant Database.

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Some of the plants used by the Sicangu Lakota people: Ambrosia artemisiifolia, ragweed (© Ted Bodner), Artemisia tridentata, big sagebrush (© Mary Ellen (Mel) Harte), Asclepias incarnata, swamp milkweed (© David Cappaert), Gutierrezia sarothrae, yellow top (© Mary Ellen (Mel) Harte), Yucca glauca, soapweed (© Dave Powell).

From the years 1917-1923 Buechel collected plants and built a herbarium; and many Native Americans at Rosebud helped him with the Lakota names and uses.  Of the 293 species in his collection, about 245 have Lakota names.  It is estimated that there are about 500 species of plants present on the Rosebud reservation, many of which are extant throughout the state.  It is important to note that the Pine Ridge Reservation alone is larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined, presenting a great resource of vegetation.

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Top: Fr. Buechel at Two Strike Parish and Fr. Buechel with Red Feather. Bottom: Family and priest (believed to be Fr. Buechel) in front of a tent and Bull Ring digging a medicinal root in the Little White River. Images © 2008 Buechel Memorial Lakota Museum, St. Francis, South Dakota, USA, courtesy Fr. Eugene Buechel, S.J. - A Visual Biography

A major component of the project is the Lead-Deadwood High School Herbarium of South Dakota plants that is being assembled by the students; many plants are the same species identified and collected by Father Buechel.

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Students working on their herbarium mounts at the Lead-Deadwood High School Herbarium of South Dakota plants. Images © 2008 Robin Cochran-Dirksen

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Specimens of the Lead-Deadwood High School Herbarium. © 2008 Robin Cochran-Dirksen

Hopefully, this will be an ongoing project, it certainly has the potential to go in many, many directions.  The tangents for the social, physical, and life sciences will provide students the outlet to research their passions.  I envision further collection of plants; possible isolation of secondary compounds produced by these plants; deepening investigation of the uses and ethnobotany of the plants of the region; research of the fields of bioprospecting and pharmaceutical development; linguistics; anthropology and probably many others that I haven't even thought of yet.  We would also like to extend a special invitation for collaboration by students of the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations.

By the way, Sicangu is pronounced "see-CHONG-ghoo".  And please, if any of you researchers out there have corrections/clarifications for me and my students, e-mail me, we are most definitely not biochemists, botanists, or anthropologists!

Lakota Plant Names 

In addition to information about the plants' characteristics and medicinal uses, the students' portfolio pages contain the Lakota plant names and audio files demonstrating their pronounciation.  The audio file with the Lakota names was created by Ben Black Bear Jr. of St. Francis, South Dakota, who is also the author of the Introduction to the online version of Dilwyn Rogers' Book of Father Buechel's research.  Short clips of the relevant names are provided on each portfolio page. The recording featuring all the names is available here: Listen to Lakota Plant Names

References

Lakota Name and Traditional Uses of Native Plants by Sicangu (Brule) People in the Rosebud Area, South Dakota. A Study Based on Father Eugene Buechel's Collection of Plants of Rosebud Around 1920 by Dilwyn J. Rogers.

Bruggen, Theodore Van. The Vascular Plants of South Dakota. ames: Iowa State Pr, 1985.

Learning Information

• ToL Learner Level:
  • Intermediate; Advanced
• Target Grade/Age Level:
  • All Grade/Age levels.
• Type of Activity
  • Lab resource; Field resource; Field Trip resource; Web-based resource
• Science Subject / Key Words
  • Taxonomy;
  • Biodiversity;
  • Ecology;
  • Morphology & Anatomy;
  • Molecular Biology & Biochemistry;
  • Ethnobotany, Secondary Plant Compounds, Lakota
• South Dakota State Education Standards: (view standards):
  • 9-12 Science
• National Education Standards (view standards):
  • 9-12 Science
• Suggested Time Frame
  • This is an ongoing project that is desgined to take several weeks.
• Sequence and Context
  • This is the research portion of a larger unit exploring indigenous cultures and plants, collecting, classifying, and preserving plants, exploring the secondary compounds produced by plants (coevolotionary adaptations) and the acivity and potential use of those compounds for the development of pharmaceuticals.
• Additional Treehouse Type:
  • Art and Culture;
  • Investigation
• Curricular Areas:
  • Health;
  • Social Studies
• Language:
  • English
• Teaching and Learning Strategy:
  • Inquiry Learning;
  • Hands-on Learning;
  • Visual Instruction;
  • Technology Integration/Computer Assisted Instruction;
  • Discussion;
  • Demonstration;
  • Lecture
• Comments
  • This project includes collection and mounting of plants into a herbarium, research on the historical uses of the plants as medicines by the Sicangu Lakota, and research on active secondary compounds produced by those plants.

Education Standards

State Education Standards

• South Dakota Education Standards
  • 9-12 Science

• 9-12.L.1.1.   Students are able to relate cellular functions and processes to specialized structures within cells.
• 9-12.L.1.2.   Students are able to classify organisms using characteristics and evolutionary relationships of major taxa.
• 9-12.S.1.1.  Students are able to explain ethical roles and responsibilities of scientists and scientific research.
• 9-12.S.1.2.  Students are able to evaluate and describe the impact of scientific discoveries on historical events and social, economic, and ethical issues.
• 9-12.N.1.1.  Students are able to evaluate a scientific discovery to determine and describe how societal, cultural, and personal beliefs influence scientific investigations and interpretations.
• 9-12.N.2.1.  Students are able to apply science process skills to design and conduct student investigations. (Synthesis)
• 9-12.N.2.2.  Students are able to practice safe and effective laboratory techniques.

National Education Standards

• National Education Standards
  • 9-12 Science

CONTENT STANDARD A: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry

CONTENT STANDARD B: As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of

• Structure of atoms
• Structure and properties of matter
• Chemical reactions
• Motions and forces
• Conservation of energy and increase in disorder
• Interactions of energy and matter

CONTENT STANDARD C: As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop understanding of

• The cell
• Molecular basis of heredity
• Biological evolution
• Interdependence of organisms
• Matter, energy, and organization in living systems
• Behavior of organisms

CONTENT STANDARD E: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop

• Abilities of technological design
• Understandings about science and technology

CONTENT STANDARD F: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop understanding of

• Personal and community health
• Population growth
• Natural resources
• Environmental quality
• Natural and human-induced hazards
• Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges

CONTENT STANDARD G: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop understanding of

• Science as a human endeavor
• Nature of scientific knowledge
• Historical perspectives