Sioux Valley mourns loss of Pratt

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This article was published 10/03/2019 (2427 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A noted Manitoba elder who dedicated her life to preserving the Dakota language has died.

Doris Pratt, from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, died Wednesday at the Dakota Oyate Lodge personal care home.

She was 83.

“It’s such a loss, because, you know, she was so strong, such a strong person and she was always there to share her wisdom and her knowledge and support for everyone,” Pratt’s daughter, Evelyn Pratt, said Sunday.

Pratt wrote books as well Dakota language-related materials for classrooms and home education, from the primary school level to senior advanced studies in the Dakota language, as well as serving as an official translator for the federal government and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

At the time of her death, Pratt had been nominated for the Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation and Promotion, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs noted in a biography of Pratt on its website.

“The family is very proud of what mom accomplished,” Evelyn said.

“She always said, you know, it was nothing she really set out to do,” she said, adding it wasn’t to get recognition for herself.

“It was just, she saw it as something important for First Nations people and to be an example.”

Evelyn added her mother had to overcome some big obstacles in her life, such as going through the residential school system.

“She was one of the first people to have a degree in this community,” she said.

In fact, Pratt held bachelor’s degrees in teaching and education, and a master’s degree in education from Brandon University, her biography notes.

She also spent five summers at the American Language Institute Development Program at the University of Arizona and achieved an education, culture and language specialist degree in 2004.

“Elder Doris Pratt will be remembered for her lifetime commitment to education and the preservation of our Dakota language,” the chief and council of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation wrote in an emailed statement.

“She was an adviser for Sioux Valley Education and Governance. Mrs. Pratt was a respected mentor, an inspiration to many Indigenous educators with her wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom.

“Her passing is a great loss for our community and we offer our prayers and sincere condolences to the Pratt family.”

Pratt, whose Indigenous name was Duzahan Mani Win (Walks Fast Woman) was the youngest of nine children, her biography says.

At the age of six, she attended Anglican Day School on the Oak River Reserve before being moved to the residential school in Elkhorn the following year.

She remained there until being moved to the Portage la Prairie Indian Residential School.

At the age of 16, her mother refused to send her back to residential school, her biography says, and she returned to live in her community. She was taught to work hard by making a living and surviving off the land, helping her father with chores, trapping, and working in the agricultural fields that surrounded their community about 40 kilometres west of Brandon.

She was a horse-woman, known for her excellent riding skills.

In the early 1970s, Pratt applied to the Indian Métis Project and Careers Teacher Education (IMPACTE) program at Brandon University.

Pratt co-ordinated the Brandon University Teacher Education Program (BUNTEP) program to train teachers for work in northern Manitoba communities, the AMC said.

The program ended in 2012.

Pratt worked as a teacher, principal, director of education and as a professor at the university level, her biography says, and authored a book, “The Dakota Oyate,” which was published by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in March 2016.

In 2018, she authored her second book, “Keeping Baby Close: Making of a Moss Bag,” which was published by the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre.

Pratt received numerous awards including:

• Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal (Knowledge Keepers);

• Ka Ni Kanichihk — Keeping the Fires Burning (Grandmothers Award);

• Aboriginal Circle of Educators (Trailblazers Award);

• Manitoba First Nations Education Centre (Dakota Language Recognition);

• Women of Distinction Award (Lifetime Achievement).

She was also nominated for an Aboriginal achievement award in education.

Pratt’s development of a phonetic writing system for the Dakota language was a major achievement that provided a system that provided for an easier way to read and write the Dakota language for children and adults.

She and her late husband Walter had six children. Pratt had 24 grandchildren, more than 40 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

An evening service was held in Brandon on Sunday. Traditional services will be held today at the Sioux Valley Veterans’ Hall in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation beginning at 10 a.m.

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