How to say dances with wolves in lakota


Dances with Wolves - Is there really a Native American Indian Connection

Learn the Native American connection with Dances with wolves, starring Kevin Costner.

Many of the supposedly Indian names, such as the one made popular by Kevin Costner in the movie, Dances with Wolves, does not have the meaning that most people think it does. His name, Steve, was not translated into “Dances with Wolves” but the Indian name Sunkmanitu Tanka Owaci can be translated to Dances with Wolves. There are some cases where the name actually has a real Native American origin, but many are given a fanciful and thoroughly incorrect 'translation' that somebody thought would appeal to parents choosing a name for their child.

In other cases the names were invented by white authors or television writers.  For works of fiction, especially old Westerns and romance novels, their fictional meanings have been faithfully repeated as fact, when they really are fiction. Others use place names that really have no meaning.

There have also been honest mistranslations--word order is different from English in many languages, so an English speaker looking at an Indian phrase may unwittingly pick out a word and mistake it for another. 


Sometimes baby name book authors make up these names to sound exotic, but they are deliberate lies. The origins of others may never be known--if they once came from an Indian name or word, they have been too corrupted over time to be easily recognized any longer. Some names that are reputed to have a Native American meaning are always open to question. If the supposed meaning of a name is false, that doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't have Indian origins at all--it could have just acquired a false 'translation' at some point. There were around 300 Native American languages spoken in North America before Columbus arrived, after all, and only half of these are still spoken today. So it is impossible to say for sure that any name definitely does not have any Indian origins. Only that it does not mean what it is claimed to.

Dances with Wolves, a 1990 American Western film starring directed and produced by Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake that tells the story of a Union Army lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and of his dealings with a group of Lakota Indians. Dances with Wolves won 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. Much of the dialogue is spoken in Lakota with English subtitles.


In 2007, Dances with Wolves was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"


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A tribute to Lakota language hero Doris Leader Charge

Doris Leader Charge, 1930-2001, on the set of Dances With Wolves. Still image from Orion Pictures via EPIX

When the Lakota woman spoke, Kevin Costner listened
By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji, Stands Up For Them)

The movie “Dances with Wolves” was aired on the Encore/Starz Channel this weekend. It brought back a lot of memories to me. It made me remember the day my friend Doris Leader Charge died. She journeyed to the Spirit World on February 20, 2001.

For those who never heard of Doris Leader Charge let me repeat the headline in an article written by David E. Thigpen for People Magazine in January of 1991. His headline read, “Kevin Costner said the words but Doris Leader Charge made the Dances dialogue truly Sioux.” Thigpen was referring to the role Leader Charge played in making the movie, Dances with Wolves” an Academy Award winning film.

Doris was born on the Rosebud Reservation on May 4, 1930. She attended St. Francis Indian School before she was sent to St. Mary’s School for Girls at Springfield, S.D. She was raised in a Lakota speaking family and did not learn to speak English until she was sent to the boarding school.

Dances with Wolves producer Jim Wilson was driven to make his movie as authentic as possible and found that many of the actors and extras, some of them Lakota and some from tribes other than Lakota, spoke little or no Lakota. He said, “Someone recommended Doris Leader Charge, a fluent Lakota speaker and teacher of the language, and we set out to get her on board.

Oscars on YouTube: Dances With Wolves Wins Adapted Screenplay

Leader Charge was a Lakota language instructor at Sinte Gleska (Spotted Tail) University on the Rosebud Reservation when Wilson sent her a script to translate from the English to Lakota. Three weeks later she sent the script back to him fully translated. Then Doris and a cousin translated each actor’s lines on tape, first in English and then in Lakota and Wilson mailed the tapes to the cast members.

Doris approached teaching the Lakota language parts to the two main characters, Kevin Costner and Mary McDonnell, a little differently. To her, Costner was a recent arrival to Lakota country so his knowledge of the language was limited and so she felt the he did not have to speak as fluently as McDonnell, who in the movie had been a white captive of the Lakota, had married a member of the tribe and therefore needed to be much more fluent in the Lakota language.

When the actors began to rehearse outside of Rapid City, Wilson asked Leader Charge to be on hand as a dialogue coach. Wilson soon realized he needed her on the set 90 percent of the time. Wilson said, “If any of the extras were late or had not studied their parts, she scolded them and because she was an elder a lot of the younger Indians looked up to her and she smoothed things out a lot.”

I worked with Michael Blake on the script of the movie with a lot of input from Doris. When he won the Academy Award for best screenplay I was amazed and thrilled to see Ms. Leader Charge walk on the stage with Michael and translate his English acceptance speech into Lakota for the folks back home on the Rosebud Reservation. I believe a lot of Hollywood stars in the audience were shocked and surprised by her elegance, grace and charm.

Doris Leader Charge and Mary McDonnell on the set of Dances With Wolves. Photo from Mostly Mary

Doris went back to teaching at Sinte Gleska University without missing a beat. She used most of the money she earned from the movie to repair her home in Parmelee on the Rosebud Reservation. She earned $23,800 for her teaching and acting (she played Pretty Shield in the movie) and with that sum she purchased a new stove, refrigerator and a washer and dryer, and that was the extent of her Hollywood money splurge.

Leader Charge said of her movie role, “The kids are so proud that I’m their teacher and that I did all of those things. I hope the film shows young people on our reservation, where self-esteem is low, that you have to do the best you can and be proud of yourself.”

Doris is buried at the Holy Innocents Cemetery near her home at Parmelee. To the very end she was a leader and she did love to take charge, but above all she was a traditional Lakota woman who brought great pride to her oyate (people).

So if you ever get a chance to see “Dances with Wolves” again as I did this weekend, think about Doris: I did.

Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard with the Class of 1991. His weekly column won the H. L. Mencken Award in 1985. He was the founder of The Lakota Times, Indian Country Today, Lakota Journal and Native Sun News. He can be reached at [email protected]

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18 epic facts about 'dances with wolves'

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25 years ago, the prevailing logic in Hollywood was that westerns, while historically established and sometimes successful, were not the genre that moviegoers wanted to see. Any director who gets the green light will have to stay within budget, less than two hours, and, of course, have dialogue in English. Dances with Wolves defied it all.

Directed and starred by Kevin Costner, the 1990 epic about a disillusioned Civil War lieutenant who travels west and befriends a tribe of Sioux Indians was three hours long, ran millions of dollars over budget, and included a cast full of unknown Native Americans . actors speaking a language most viewers have never heard. In the end, the film—a "journey movie," as Costner called it—won seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and grossed over $400 million. 25 th anniversary of its release, here are a few things you might not know about Dances with Wolves .

1. IT STARTED AS A NOVEL THAT NO ONE WANTED TO PUBLICATE.

Inspired by the Plains Indian books, screenwriter Michael Blake (who died earlier this year) pitched Costner the idea for Dances with Wolves . Costner told Blake, whom he met in an acting class in Los Angeles, to write a novel instead of a screenplay, reasoning that a novel could arouse studio interest more effectively than a cold screenplay. So Blake spent months writing and sleeping on the sofas of friends (including Costner's). "Actually, I wrote the whole book in my car," Blake said off-camera. When finished, Blake sent Dances with Wolves , to numerous publishers, all of whom donated his manuscript. Finally, after over 30 rejections, a small publisher named Fawcett accepted it.

2. BECOME A MOVIE THAT NO STUDIO WANTS TO FUND

After being turned down by American studios, Costner turned to overseas for help, eventually raising startup funds from a handful of foreign investors. After receiving only a fraction of the film's $15 million budget, he began filming. Orion Pictures eventually stepped in with $10 million, but Dances with Wolves ended up over $3 million over budget. Costner covered the excess out of his own pocket.

3. COSTNER AND HIS SCREENWRITER HAVE A DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIP.

Before Blake started working on Dances with Wolves Costner tried to find work for his friend by arranging numerous interviews with studio representatives. But, as Costner told Tim Ferris in a recent podcast, Blake ruined any opportunity by arguing with reps. "I really started to lose patience with him," Costner said. The two became more and more at odds with each other, leading to a physical confrontation in which Costner pinned Blake against a wall. "I said, 'Stop pretending you want to be in Hollywood,'" Costner told Ferriss.

Blake stayed with Costner while writing Dances with Wolves , all the while pestering Costner to read his work. Costner refused, and Blake quickly ran out of steam. He eventually moved to Arizona, where he washed dishes at a Chinese restaurant for $3.35 an hour. He called Costner and asked for money, so Costner sent him a sleeping bag and a portable stove. Blake pestered Costner again to read the book he had already finished. After several months of rejection, Costner finally gave in and was overwhelmed. "It was the clearest idea for a film I've ever read," Costner recalls.

4. COSTNER TRIED TO FIND ANOTHER DIRECTOR before starting work.

Deciding to go ahead with the project, Costner turned the script over to three well-known directors (who, unfortunately, he won't name), hoping that one of them would work. But each of them had details that Costner considered decisive. "Some wanted to get rid of the opening episode of the Civil War," Costner told Tim Ferriss. “Some thought it was too long. Someone thought it shouldn't be white [love interest], that it would be cliché." So the actor decided to step in and do the job himself.



5. A COMMUNITY COLLEGE TEACHER PERFORMED A CINEMA COACH'S DIALOGUE.

More than a quarter of Blake's text had to be translated into Sioux Lakota. This was great considering most westerns had American actors pour out their lines in English. But there was one problem: few people could speak Lakota, let alone translate. Costner had heard of an instructor at Sinte Gleska University in South Dakota named Doris Leader Charge who taught Lakota language and culture. He sent her the script and three weeks later got it back in full translation.

“Before, I hadn't even seen the script,” said the then 60-year-old teacher in the Behind the Scenes report. Since none of the actors spoke the Lakota language, Costner brought Leader Charge to the set for further guidance and even invited her to act as Beauty Shield, wife of the Ten Bears. Leader Charge initially refused, saying she needed to get back to work. So Costner called the college president and extended her tenure.

6. LOGISTICS WAS A LOOK.

In addition to filming in more than 30 locations throughout South Dakota and Wyoming, the script included filming 3,500 buffaloes, three dozen teepees, 300 horses, two wolves, and a small army of Indian extras. Add in the budget headaches and weather challenges, which fluctuated from 20 to over 100 degrees during filming from July to November, and it's a wonder the film was ever made.

7. BUFFALO HUNTING WAS VERY DIFFICULT.

The focus of the film was not on stunts or CGI magic: it was really a herd of 3,500 buffalo rushing across the prairie. The crew only had one chance to film the stampede each day, as the animals first had to be rounded up and then when they began to run, they had to walk several miles before stopping. "Trucks started chasing the buffaloes at five in the morning in the hope that they would be there by 11," said producer Jim Wilson. Entertainment Weekly . The shot took eight days to shoot and involved 20 people, a helicopter and 10 pickup trucks with cameras installed.

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8. NEIL YOUNG AND OREOS HELPED TO COMPLETE THE SEQUENCE.

Several domestic buffalo were required for close-up shots. So the team turned to singer Neil Young, who lent them Mammoth, and a South Dakota meat manufacturer whose mascot "Cody" played a buffalo that attacked a brave young man who had fallen off his horse. To get Cody to run towards the camera, his handler tempted him with his favorite treat: Oreos. “You can be 100 yards away, pull out the Oreo and it will shoot like a bullet right at you,” Wilson said. Entertainment Weekly .

9. COSTNER DID MOST OF HIS TRADES.

Wilson estimates that Costner was 95 percent involved in the racing, shooting, fighting and dancing with wolves in the film. It was all impressive, but it also kept the team on their toes. During a buffalo hunt, a rider turned in front of Costner's horse, dropping a star from his mount. "I was in the helicopter and all I heard was 'Kevin down, Kevin down,'" Wilson revealed. While the crew held their breath, the star stood up, dusted herself off and jumped on her stunt double's horse to end the scene.

10. WOLVES WAS DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH, NATURALLY.

The team hired two wolves - Buck and Teddy - to play Two Socks, the wolf that Dunbar Costner befriends. But even with trainers, so-called "trained" wolves are known for their temperament. It took a lot of patience and pieces of meat for Beck and Teddy to start working together. The filmmakers did not fail to humiliate themselves in order to get the shots they needed. Behind-the-scenes footage shows Wilson and Costner attempting to make the wolves howl by calling out their own wild calls.

11. Costner wanted the "wrinkled-faced" actress to play fist-handed.

Contrary to the trend of pairing a leading man with a much younger love interest, Costner said he wanted a mature, more experienced actress to play Standa Fist, a white woman adopted by the Sioux as a child who helps John Dunbar integrate with her people, and in eventually falls in love with him. They passed on the role to Mary McDonnell, then a 37-year-old theater actress who quickly learned her Lakota lines and deftly handled her character's relearning of English. Her performance was nominated for an Oscar, plus lots of compliments on her tousled hair.

12. HOLLYWOOD INSIDERS CALL IT "COSTNER'S LAST ARTICLE."

Hollywood insiders smelled blood after hearing about the film's production difficulties. Some have called the risky bet "Costner's Last Opponent," while others have dubbed it "Kevin's Gate," in reference to Michael Cimino's wildly over-budgeted western flop. Gates of Heaven . In the end, they were all blown away by the film's box office gross of almost $425 million.

13. THE STUDIO CREATES SEPARATE MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR MEN AND WOMEN.

Part Dances with Wolves 'Success was due to its appeal to both men and moviegoers. To stir up interest, Orion took a unique step at the time by cutting out individual trailers and print ads that revealed various aspects of the film. Female-targeted marketing played up the film's love story, while a male-targeted campaign emphasized the gun-shooting elements of the film's Wild West.

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14. IT BECAME THE MOST HIGHLY DETAILED WEST OF ALL TIME.

Within six months in wide release, Dances with Wolves grossed $184 million domestically, surpassing The Young Guns , Silverado, and other Westerns to become the highest-grossing film in the genre. Twenty-five years later, he is still at the top of the list, ahead of 2010. True shutter speed . Interestingly, in all the weeks in theaters, Dances with Wolves has never topped the box office charts.

15. ORION FILM PICTURES A TEMPORARY ENHANCEMENT.

The company that distributed RoboCop , Platoon, and Caddyshack produced a string of bad performers in the late 1980s. By the time Dances With Wolves hit theaters, Orion's stock was down 50 percent and the company was $500 million in debt. "We needed a hit," said David Forbes, president of marketing and distribution for Orion. Entertainment Weekly . Unfortunately, even the combined success of Dances with Wolves and The Silence of the Lambs (which came out the following year) was enough to recoup Orion's losses. The company filed for bankruptcy a year later, briefly resurfacing in the mid-1990s before being bought by MGM. In 2014, MGM released The City That Dreaded the Sunset under the Orion label.

16. THERE ARE CRITICS IN THE FILM.

Many reviewers wrote that the film was overly sentimental and romanticized the life of the Sioux. David Sirota, writing for Salon, called 9 recently0007 Dances with Wolves is an example of a "white savior movie" that tells the familiar story of a white hero who attacks to save a helpless tribe from destruction. Meanwhile, Native American actor and activist Russell Means called the film Lawrence of the Plains , a derogatory reference to Lawrence of Arabia , and noted that the film's Lakota dialect is almost entirely incorrect. "The weird thing about making this film is that they had a woman teaching the actors the Lakota language," Means said. High Times . “But the Lakota have a male tongue and a female tongue. Some Indians and Kevin Costner spoke feminine. When I went to see it with a group of Lakota guys, we laughed.”

17. THE NATION OF SIOUX ADDED ITS HONORARY MEMBER.

Criticism aside, the Sioux liked the images that focused on the peaceful daily life of their tribe. So they honored Costner with official membership. The induction ceremony included tying an eagle feather into his hair and presenting a handmade quilt. A few years later, however, Costner lost some of that good cheer when he bought several hundred acres in the Black Hills of South Dakota—land considered sacred to the Sioux—and announced plans to build a resort. Development proved difficult, however, and Costner finally abandoned the plan in 2013.

18. CONTINUED.

That is the continuation of the book. In 2001, Blake published The Holy Way , which continues the story of John Dunbar, now a full-fledged Sioux warrior, as he attempts to protect his tribe from encroachment by white settlers. Critics have praised the novel for its portrayal of westward expansion and the plight of Native Americans without being harsh. There have been rumors of a possible miniseries, but nothing has been confirmed at this time.

Real Indian in the Murom forests nishtyak!

Komsomolskaya Pravda

Miscellary

Alexey Ovchinnikov

June 4, 2016 1:00

The large wolf exchanged the USA for the Vladimir cap and is going to get on the path of import substitution [Photo]

In Slavtsevo Justin, everyone knows and are called out good about the "alien". Who in Slavtsevo does not know Justin? - answers the local grandmother, whom we stopped to ask for directions. - Normal guy, doesn't drink, let alone...

And she nods at the peasant who, for obvious reasons, is squatting outside the store.

- And you're right around the corner, - she shows. - You will see: the house is old, his car and hay.

The log wigwam of the Russian Indian Justin Irwin, nicknamed “Big Wolf”, is found exactly in the place where it was indicated by the natives. He is indeed old.

- We will soon build a new one, a two-story one, - the Big Wolf justifies himself from the threshold. Into this wilderness he seemed to have descended from the pages of adventure novels by Fenimore Cooper and Mine Reed. Exactly matching the description given to his warlike ancestors in the books of our childhood: an aquiline nose on an angular face, a proud chin, high cheekbones, dark hair braided behind. He is holding his two-year-old son Yaroslav in his arms, and from below, with the eyes of a novice tracker, his eldest son, 6-year-old Mato - the Bear in translation, is examining us. Daughter Diana is still at school. The Russian wife of the Big Wolf, Natalya, is busy at the stove.

Justin, Natalia and children.Photo: Alexey EPIFANOV

- How, cola! Wuchichiyaka wachin! (Hello, friend! We want to talk to you) - we welcome him (prepared, memorized, but still read from a piece of paper). Justin the Wolf breaks into a smile and invites you to sit down. He looks pleased. I was about to recall the line of the classic, the one where “a real Indian is always good everywhere”, but the owner is sadly ahead: not everywhere.

- Before that, I had a completely different life... - he says sadly.

Justin in front of his house. According to him, soon the family will be building and a new two-story house is just around the corner. Photo: Alexei EPIFANOV

"Life is richer in Slavtsevo" sung by the mentioned writers. Like all Indians, Justin for the time being slowly lived on the reservation, where the pale-faced colonialists drove his fellow tribesmen, and with longing recalled the heroic era of the leader of the Lakota tribal union named Crazy Horse. In the middle of the 19th century, he became famous for his disobedience, refused to sign hypocritical agreements with the pale-faced colonialists (“As history later showed, and he did the right thing, he was deceived anyway”), for which he was vilely killed by an American soldier.

- What didn't suit you? - we are interested in him.

- Everything is very poor there, the standard of living there is much worse than here in Slavtsevo, the houses are unkempt, there is a lot of crime, - Justin-Wolf enumerates the Indian troubles in the reservations ... Continuous unemployment again ...

- Unemployment?! - we do not believe and list hackneyed cliches: - Yes, any Russian liberal will tell you that in a free country of the USA everyone can find a job, just not to be lazy! "American Dream", "great American nation..."

- Everything is wrong... - the Big Wolf exhales. - There are no jobs on the reservations. It is very expensive to go to the south of the USA, somewhere in California. .. And in the districts neighboring Dakota, we are still not considered as people - there is a territory of pale faces. Descendants of those who organized the genocide of our ancestors. They are proud of their grandfathers and the dirty deeds they did, so they have the same attitude towards the Indians. Like subhumans. They will give only the most dirty and low-paid work. Indian persecution continues.

“A million Indians on the reservations. This is freedom?"

- And this is in the 21st century? - again we are surprised.

- Well, now, of course, they don't kill, they act differently. Very powerful juvenile justice: the children of the poor Indians were not just taken away, but converted to their faith. Only speak English, there is not a single school for Indians! Long hair is not allowed either. Faith - only Protestantism or Catholicism! This is forced assimilation!

The Big Wolf laughs sadly and tells the story of the filming of the cult film Dances with Wolves. Actor and director Kevin Costner, for authenticity, decided to make a movie, completely immersed in the real Indian life. For which he agreed with the Indians from the Comanche tribe. And then it turned out that these people forgot their language - almost everyone speaks only English! The Hollywood star had to bow to the Sioux Lakota tribe, who by some miracle still retained their language. And even then not all - in 2000, only 14% of them knew the language of their ancestors. Now, probably even less...

- There is no such oppression in Russia! he says emotionally. - Mordovia begins not far from us. So there the Mordovian language is taught freely in schools, the national culture is promoted. It turns out that there is more freedom for small nations in Russia than in the USA! USA is a police state! Total control over everyone. It seems that there are no problems with food, but when the state knows everything about you, it becomes somehow uncomfortable and unpleasant to live, like you live in prison. And then - when more than a million Indians are still on reservations - what kind of freedom can you talk about?

- There are problems with food! - the Russian squaw Natasha will contradict him. - The food is weird. She cooked familiar dishes according to familiar recipes, but tasted like cotton wool...

- And here?

- Have you tried our Slavtsev potatoes? - the Russian Indian says admiringly and raises his thumb up. - And cabbage soup is very tasty, pancakes. And, I fell in love with another Russian dish - khinkali! But I really miss buffalo meat - it is not available in Russia...

Lakota People's Republic

The Indian dream came true again at the end of 2007. Then the famous Indian rebel Russell Means proclaimed the independent Republic of Lakota and even announced the termination of the treaty between the tribe and the US government. And Justin, like many of his fellow tribesmen, rushed into a new life to participate in this popular Indian construction. Russell tried to create a new dream: with windmills, technology, and invited not only Indians to the reservation, but also everyone who shared this idea...

However, it did not work out to create their own state: some of the leaders suddenly changed their point of view and advocated the indivisibility of the United States, disputes began ... And then Russell died and it all ended ... But the Russian page of the American Indian Justin the Wolf began.

- At the forum where the creation of the Republic of Lakota was discussed, we met, - his wife, a former Muscovite Natasha, puts in her word. - Have you all read books about the struggle of the Indians? About Chingachkuk - the Big Snake, the sons of the Big Dipper? ... But they were written in the 19th century, and I wondered how it all ended there? And I went to the USA to see everything with my own eyes...

The wedding was played there, according to Indian customs.

- Everything was very beautiful and mysterious, - she recalls.

We ask to see the wedding photo, but Natasha shakes her head:

- They call this ritual "Dance of the Sun". It lasts four days and during it you can not take pictures.

The newlyweds immediately decided to move to Russia. Options with megacities were discarded: an Indian torn off the ground and placed in concrete walls - which is on the same reservation. And again - where to keep a horse, without which an Indian cannot be called that?

- I'll buy two horses soon! - Justin-Wolf smiles dreamily. - We will ride through the meadows with my wife!

- How did the relatives react to the move?

- We're upset, of course, - says Justin. - But my grandfather was very happy: he has a lot of books about Russia and Russians. According to them, he fell in love with this country! Now I understand it too.

Justin about "pale-faced" Americans: "They are proud of their grandfathers and the dirty deeds they did." Photo: Alexei YEPIFANOV

Cigarettes of the world

- Shall we smoke? - asks the Russian Indian, and we go out into the yard. We don’t have the sacred pipe of peace, and therefore we replace it with cigarettes. Justin colorfully describes this ancient Native American rite and the true essence of lighting the peace pipe. However, due to the fear that this may be seen as promotion of smoking, we will not transmit his words. Smoking is bad!

He takes us to inspect the farm: for now there are two cows, a bull and a couple of pigs. They feed the Big Wolf family. Plus, Natalia had savings from Moscow life, in which she worked as an accountant.

- We also... Natasha, what did we get for Yaroslav's birth?

- Wolf, maternity capital! - his Russian squaw (a woman - in Indian) responds through the window.

- There is no such thing in America...

Mato Bear cub at this time, having taken possession of the editorial camera, runs around and snaps everything. His father and I, sitting on the mound, squint. Either from affection, or from the Russian sun.

Justin praises local cuisine and products. The only thing he misses is buffalo meat. Photo: Aleksey EPIFANOV

“I want to be a Russian!”

Soon the Big Wolf dreams of taking a swing at the peasant farm (KFH). Apparently, Natalya will have to register it: Justin is still a US citizen, and foreigners cannot buy agricultural land. Getting a Russian passport is difficult. Yes, as the wife of a Russian woman, he is entitled to a simplified version, but he has a problem with the Russian language, he still cannot learn it.

- Why is that? he grumbles. - To get citizenship, I have to pass a test for knowledge of Russian. But I have not only a wife, but also children - citizens of the Russian Federation. And I did not come here as a guest worker, but for good, this is my new homeland, I want to be a citizen of Russia!

However, he doesn't get hung up on this offense and, with master's pride, gestures around the open spaces around:

- That's all ours, from that fence to the forest!

I pop in and rake in a puddle with brand new moccasins. Big Wolf notices this and cunningly narrows his eyes: he has been walking around these Vladimir prairies for a long time in more acceptable rubber boots.

- Soon we'll line up in another place, we've been given a forest, - he says dreamily. - I'll put up an Indian wigwam there - tipi. I will also start a tractor this year!...

On the dirty bumper of the family Daewoo Matis, he prints the name of his new mechanical dream: "MTZ-82", raising both thumbs. And then he solemnly promises us immediately after the purchase of the tractor to embark on the path of import substitution and fill up the locals with eco-friendly cheeses, milk and meat...

- And you know how many mushrooms there are here! he rejoices again. - The forest just smells like them, it's a miracle!

The whole household of the family is a bull and a couple of pigs. But there are many plans. Photo: Alexey EPIFANOV

"Don't call yourself pale-faced, Russian!"

… We light up another peace pipe (I remind you that smoking is bad!). I talk about books about Indians that I read as a child: there the courageous redskins all the time gave new names to the pale-skinned. Since childhood, I wanted to get an Indian name from an Indian!

- Why do you call yourself pale? he protests. - You are Russian!

I don't understand. And he explains on his fingers:

- We contemptuously call the Americans - the colonialists - pale-faced. The Russians did not colonize anyone, and therefore there is no need to offend yourself like that.

- But still, Big Wolf... - I beg him for an Indian name for myself.

He looks intently at the camera (Mato Bear cub returned it to that time). “I’ll definitely be the Glass Eye,” I thought. But the Big Wolf was not going to call me according to the Indian traditions.

- You can't do that, only Indians can, such rules, - he seems to apologize.

Justin believes that the Russians did not colonize anyone and it is still not worth calling compatriots pale-faced. Photo: Alexei EPIFANOV

- He said that Russians and Indians are very similar...

- Yes, and I didn't lie! Because we have one dream - about a fair life. Family, harmony with nature, children. And justice - it is only in collectivism, in the commune! And in this sense, all Lakota Indians are communists! This is what our ancestors lived, and what your communists dreamed of: a society without money, where everyone takes only what he needs, meat - equally. Where there are no oligarchs and slaves. Where the strong take care of the weak and protect him from enemies. This is the strength of the Russians, right?

Yes, Big Wolf, of course.

It seems that we understood each other...

A real Indian settled in the Murom forests!

The Big Wolf exchanged the United States for the Vladimir hinterland and is going to embark on the Import substitution path Alexei Ovchinnikov, Alexey Epifanov

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