GAME-THEORETIC PROPOSALS FOR A WORKABLE REVITALIZATION CURRICULUM ON PINE RIDGE RESERVATION

This paper proposes practical and implementable Lakota language programs for use in primary school classrooms on the Pine Ridge Reservation. By applying the Predictioneer’s Model of the Game Theory to the most viable educational models for the reservation, the Lakota Full Immersion and Lakota/English Dual Immersion Models are found to be the classroom options that would be the most agreeable for all interested parties. The implementation of either of these models would enhance student scholastic performance, provide greater post-school opportunities, as well as provide incentive for the Lakota language within the community. The paper also discusses the current orthographic issues that are integral to the teaching of Lakota on the reservation. For three thousand years, the language of the Sioux Nation echoed across the North American prairie, but today that voice is barely a whisper. The ravages of oppression and displacement have taken a heavy toll on all of the Sioux tribes, including the Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Reservation. The Oglala Lakota are a resilient people