Wanbdi Wakita

Wanbdi Wakita was born in 1940, in the community of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. His name translates into English as Looking Eagle. As a boy, with the support of his mother’s love and his grandfather’s wisdom, he was encouraged to acknowledge how Creator was speaking to him through sacred phenomena. His connection to his family members, who would later become his ancestors, was integral to his journey in becoming a Wicasa Wakan or Holy Man.

Today, Wanbdi embodies and transmits the Dakota ways of living. As a Wicasa Wakan he has devoted three decades to working with men in prison, teaching the Dakota language, overseeing the Sundance ceremony as Sundance Chief, sharing songs and stories. Wanbdi is gentle and soft spoken, a man of integrity and profound wisdom. He possesses a rare breadth of traditional and culture knowledge, which he combines with a message of healing and unity between all nations.

To find out more about his work, visit his website http://bearpawtipi.ca/who-are-we-2/