Un de' che cha pi: The Way We Are
By Mary Louise Defender Wilson

• About Mary Louise
• Cover Art
• Album Tracks
• Audio Sample
• Production Credits
• How to Order

Mary Louise Defender Wilson

Mary Louise Defender Wilson, born to a family of traditional Dakotah storytellers on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation of North Dakota, is recognized and honored for the beauty of her words and the wisdom expressed through her art, beauty and wisdom made possible only through a lifetime of contemplation. She has received: a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Governor's Award for the Arts in North Dakota, the National Education Association's H. Councill Trenholm Memorial Award for Human and Civil Rights, and several Native America Music Awards in the Best Spoken Word category.

Album Track List

1. Introduction
   Discusses the development and modification of the four characteristics of human nature and the need for balance.
2. The Ducks Dance With Their Eyes Closed
   Due to his hunger, gluttony, and unwillingness to share, Unktomi, or Spiderman, suffers a series of humorous upsets.
3. The Spiderman Meets the Giant
   When people live in ways they don't understand as negative, they are living with a hungry Giant they do not see.
4. How the Meadowlark Won the Race
   Overshadowing anger and jealous competition prevents Meadowlark, Wolf, and Turtle from appreciating their unique gifts.
5. The Painted Turtle Who Went After Horses
   Often told to children, this story, through Turtle and his many friends, teaches self-reliance.
6. Spiderman Tries to Marry His Own Daughter
   A serious story about how preoccupation with things like sexual urges can override the good in our lives.
7. Closing/Prayer
   Expresses the need of all societies to look at these four characteristics that, when overdeveloped or out of balance, can cause us difficulty.

Audio Sample

• "The Painted Turtle Who Went After Horses"

Production Credits

Acknowledgements:

• The Dakotah community
• “Thank you to Darlene American Horse for her wisdom integrating culture, history, and tradition into her expertise of the Dakotah's Wicheyena language. Thank you to Patti Kelly for the laughter of the everyday language of the Lakota-Teton.” - Mary Louise

Executive Producer

• North Dakota Council on the Arts

Producers:

• Troyd Geist, North Dakota Council on the Arts
• David Swenson, Makoche Recording Company

Media:

• CD production, editing, mixing, and mastering completed at Makoche Recording Studios by David Swenson and George Welder
• Storytelling and interview editing structure by Troyd Geist
• Photographs courtesy of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (owl, mudhen, sunset)
• Additional photography by Troyd Geist (cover) and Ben Nemenoff (beaded dress - thanks to Sue Bartholomew for her assistance)
• Flute music by Andy Vasquez

Funded by the North Dakota Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

© 2003 North Dakota Council on the Arts

How to Order

• Price: $15.95 (add 6% sales tax for ND residents) plus $3.00 shipping.
• Mail check or money order to: North Dakota Council on the Arts, 1600 Century Drive, Suite 6, Bismarck, ND 58503
• or call 701-328-7590
• or e-mail comserv@nd.gov