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In September 2018, ILI Partner First Peoples Fund hosted the first of three place-based intensives for ILI Fellows in Lakota Territory/South Dakota. The five-day leadership immersion brought together the second cohort of ILI Fellows for shared learning, personal exchange and direct experience with the true history and sacred places in Lakota Territory.  2018/19 ILI Fellows Cohort at Red Shirt Overlook in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Photo by Melisa Cardona “This work is so important,” said First Peoples Fund President Lori Pourier. “The partners who came together to start ILI have long term relationships, but we need to widen the circle and provide space for other arts & cultural leaders who voices are an important part of the larger story.”
By Lori Lea Pourier, Maka Citomi Omani Win | Woman Who Walks the Earth. Oglala Lakota, President, First Peoples Fund  Photo by Carlton Turner My Lakota name was given to me by my Unci Olivia Black Elk Pourier who made her journey to the Wanagi Yata (the place of the Spirits) when my daughter Shahiyela, now 19, was 8 years old.
During your stay you will learn about the Lakol Wicho’an (the Lakota Way of Life) and how we are taught that our life here on Unci Maka (Grandmother Earth) mirrors the stars (Lakota cosmologies). Our Creation Story begins in the Black Hills. Through story and in practice you will learn about the Lakota virtues of Woksape (Wisdom), Woohitika (Bravery) Wowacintanka (Fortitude) and Wacantognaka (Generosity).
Lynette Two Bulls is the ILI Host Facilitator for the Lakota Territory, the location for the first of three place-based intensives for the ILI Fellows. She shared her thoughts about empowerment, leadership and the sacred Black Hills as a powerful and centering place to start ILI Fellows on their year-long journey together.
Photo by Melisa Cardona
Lynette Two Bulls is Oglala Lakota and Cheyenne and her Lakota name Tuŋwéyaŋ kiyapiwiŋ means “Scouts Woman.” She is originally from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and now resides with her family on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Lame Deer, Montana.
Get a glimpse into the ILI intensive experience through this day-by-day look.
ILI Facilitator Nijeul X. Porter (l) and ILI Fellow Joe Tolbert (r) at Pe Sla (Black Hills). Photo by Melisa Cardona
ILI Fellow Christopher Sims shares his thoughts and experiences from Lakota Territory  ILI Fellows Robert Martinez (l) and Christopher D. Sims (r) “This is professional and spiritual development I will need to continue my work - the work we are all doing
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