(Chamberlain, S.D.) – An expansive new educational art exhibition opened June 11 at the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center in Chamberlain, South Dakota. It will remain on view through October 22, 2018; an exhibit reception will be held Friday, July 13, from 4-7 p.m.
“Takuwe,” which in English means “why,” centers on re-imagining the senseless slaughter of 300 Lakotas on December 29, 1890. Developed by the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS), the exhibit opened in March 2018 at The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge Reservation before moving to the Akta Lakota Museum at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
The narrative structure of “Takuwe” is based on the words of Lakotas who were there in 1890 and 1891. Their recollections and reflections guide visitors through the exhibition in seven chronological periods:
•Belief expresses the spiritual context of the Ghost Dance.
•Assassination focuses on the early morning killing of Sitting Bull on December 15, 1890.
•Trek covers the journey of Spotted Elk and his people from along the Cheyenne River toward Red Cloud’s community in Pine Ridge Reservation.
•Massacre portrays the senseless killing of innocent Lakota children, women and men on Monday, December 29, 1890, at Wounded Knee.
•Interval covers the period of time from immediately after the massacre through January 2, 1891.
•Interment concentrates on January 3-4, 1891 and the burial of the Lakotas whose bodies remained on the site in a mass, unmarked grave.
•Proposal, the final section, offers an opportunity to reflect on the complex legacy of the massacre and looks forward to the ways in which Lakota citizens and tribes will continue to commemorate Wounded Knee.
The exhibition includes songs, visual artworks and poems by 46 contemporary Lakota artists. The artworks range in scale from very small to very large. An imaginative pendant crafted from the tip of a buffalo horn with a fitted, engraved sterling silver cap was created by JhonDuane Goes In Center, a self-taught silversmith who was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation. At the other end of the scale is a large, queen-sized fabric quilt that was buried for nearly two months this winter, then disinterred and displayed uncleaned, spread out on the gallery floor. Andrea Lekberg and her mother, Frances Davidson, conceived and sewed the quilt in Andrea’s Morristown, New Jersey home, then buried it on a bitter cold December 2017 day in allotted trust land in the Lacreek District of Pine Ridge Reservation. Frances was born in Pine Ridge and now lives in Chicago.
The voices of the Lakota poets and musicians can quite literally be heard in the gallery. By putting on a pair of headphones, visitors can listen to the poets recite their works and the musicians sing, or play, their songs.
Other visual artists contributing to the exhibit include Arthur Amiotte, Angela Babby, Keith BraveHeart, Roger Broer, Dana Claxton, Evans Flammond Sr., Monty Fralick, Jessica Garcia Fritz, Charles Her Many Horses, Kim Soo Goodtrack, Del Iron Cloud, Athena LaTocha, Layli Long Soldier and her daughter, Chance White, Donald Montileaux, Kevin Pourier, Melanie Ratzlaff, Dorene Red Cloud, Richard Red Owl, Iris Sully-Sorensen, Sandy Swallow, Paul Szabo, Micheal Two Bulls, Ann-erika White Bird, Renelle White Buffalo and Jim Yellowhawk.
Poets include Lydia Whirlwind Soldier, Patrick LeBeau, Lanniko Lee, Ronya Galligo-Hoblit, Marty Black Bonnet, Taté Walker and Autumn White Eyes. The musicians are Evelyn “Sissy” GoodHouse, Cedric GoodHouse, The Wake Singers (Douglas Two Bulls, Micheal Two Bulls and Grant Two Bulls), Sequoia Crosswhite, Gerald Yellowhawk and his grandson, Stephen Yellowhawk, Ghostsong Elegy (Tom Swift Bird, Zachary Dendinger and Travis Hencey) and Trevino Brings Plenty.
These artists range in age from their teens to their eighties. Some were born on or near a reservation, others were born in distant cities. Some live on a reservation today, others live in urban areas. Some are formally trained in the arts, while others are self-taught. Collectively, they live in 14 states and two provinces.
In addition to these core artists, Lakotas of all walks of life are invited to create a 5-inch square artwork for the exhibition. Students, inmates, lay persons and professional artists are contributing to this initiative. We hope that eventually the number of contributing artists will surpass three hundred, which is the number of Lakotas who suffered terrible deaths at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890.
Takuwe will next be at South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, South Dakota from November 2018 through January 2019.
About the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies is an Indian-controlled nonprofit research and education center that is committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of American Indian communities and issues important to them by developing quality educational resources and innovative projects that acknowledge and incorporate tribal perspectives, and by serving as a meeting ground for peoples and ideas that support these perspectives. For more information visit www.nativecairns.org.
St. Joseph’s Indian School, an apostolate of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, partners with Native American children and families to educate for life – mind, body, heart and spirit.
