Awarded Projects

Kawá

A short film featuring intergenerational Indigenous characters with a Lakota lens. This project will host workshops showcasing Indigenous filmmaking techniques and practices along with providing assistance for post-production (Editing, Scoring, Coloring.)

Wakpá Wašté Lakótiya Wóuglakapi ki (Cheyenne River Lakota Language Speakers Project)

This project documents the importance of the Lakota language through portraits and interviews with community members on the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation. A culminating exhibit and honoring event will be held in the Fall of 2025.

Adding Artistic Influence To The Pine Ridge Reservation

This project introduces youth to contemporary art, specifically graffiti and spray paint, while incorporating traditional Lakota beliefs and imagery. Youth will participate in creating a mural at the WK 4 Directions skatepark in Pine Ridge, learning to express themselves through this medium and explore alternative ways to represent traditional art forms.

Un Tuwe Pi Ki - Who We Are

This project will create a community-driven zine featuring the voices and perspectives of Lakota youth. The zine will be circulated within the community and distributed to cultural centers such as the Oglala Lakota Artspace, Garbage Tale Vintage, and NDN Girls Book Club pop-ups, fostering a platform for youth expression and sharing Lakota stories.

Rez Roots Community Art Exhibition

The Rez Root Artist Collective will curate an inaugural community art exhibition featuring works from members, invited guests, and open call submissions. Focusing on intergenerational impacts and relationships, the exhibition will showcase diverse perspectives on Oglala Lakota culture. The exhibition will tour Oglala Lakota homelands and beyond, sharing these narratives with wider audiences. The “Rez Roots” Artist Collective is Maiki Ghost Bear, Pte San Win Little Whiteman, Marina Moon, Celestine Stadnick, Dora Red Owl, Nathaniel Ruleaux, and Keith BraveHeart.

Thiíkceya Wóunspe Preservation

The project involves creating workshops and educational materials to showcase Lakota tipi knowledge. These sessions will emphasize practical skills like pole harvesting and preparation, alongside the tipi's cultural and symbolic importance. Participants will engage in hands-on learning, gaining insight into tipi keeping traditions. The project aims to preserve and share these cultural aspects, revitalizing interest and appreciation among participants. It also provides a platform for community members to connect with their identity, connecting that understanding of Lakota culture. Through these efforts, the project seeks to ensure the continuation of tipi knowledge and its significance within the Lakota community.

Warriors: Vietnam War Era

This project is meant to document and honor the military experiences of Lakota Vietnam War veterans through oral history interviews. Focusing on their traditional home life before deployment and their readjustment after returning home, the interviews will create an archive for future generations. The project will culminate in a community screening of the recorded interviews, with the long-term goal of producing a documentary. This initiative seeks to acknowledge the bravery and service of these veterans.

Untitled Lakota Photography Project

This project will produce a two-day, all-ages workshop, led by Lakota photographer Jaida Grey Eagle. It explores authorship, collaboration, empowerment, and the importance of documentation through photography and storytelling. The project will culminate in a group exhibition showcasing the work and uplifting women and non-binary individuals within Lakota community. Inspired by Grey Eagle's own project, "Winyan," the workshop aims to empower community members to share their stories and celebrate Lakota winyan.

Come Sew With Us

The project is a 5-part all inclusive class that will teach community members the art of star blanket making. Each participant will create their own star blanket wall hanging during the process.

Day Poems: Sun Mirror

This project is a re-imagining of an existing outdoor poetry installation. Originally comprised of eight steel panels with cut-out poems, previously displayed at Tinworks Art in Bozeman, MT, the project will be relocated to Lakota territory. Mikayla Patton and Layli Long Soldier will rework the installation, incorporating reflections on Lakota kinship, community, land, and artistic lineage, exploring how place and time shape our experience of space. This re-iteration will use the interplay of sun, shadow, light, mirrors, and text to create a new, site-specific experience.

Protect Our People

This project will engage youth in creating a publicly accessible mural. It is meant to open conversation about the challenges facing the community, including missing women, racism, and prejudice. Wade’s mural is located in Art Alley in Rapid City, SD.

Chuwic'inpa Woiyaksape Ekiciglaku (Reclaiming the Cradleboard Teachings): Using Cradleboard Teachings As A Methodological Praxis To Map An Otherwise Project

This project aims to develop a comprehensive toolkit to empower families in the creation of traditional cradleboards. Drawing upon personal experience and successful teaching endeavors, the project provides step-by-step instructions, templates, and visual guides to assist families in crafting safe and culturally meaningful cradleboards for their infants through free community classes.

Journey of Cultural Legacy

This project aims to preserve Ben’s ancestry and heritage through family conversation, traditional ledger art, and sharing his work with community. His work displayed at a local business in Billings, MT and you can visit his website to explore more of his project.

Otakuye Hemaca (I Am A Relative)

This project will engage a group of Oglala Lakota artists in a collaborative exploration of community-engaged arts practices across Oglala makoce. The Oglala Lakota artist collective will collaboratively conceptualize creative engagements that uplift and visualize the cultural foundations of Otakuye / Wotakuye (All My Relations). The project will utilize screen-printing techniques to produce visual communications centered around the concept of "Otakuye Hemaca" (I Am A Relative). Community participants will be invited to engage in the screen-printing process, creating garments that affirm cultural identity. These garments will be intended for relatives in need, including those experiencing homelessness in Rapid City and throughout the communities within the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) district.

Who We Are - Screenplay Development

This project focuses on the adaptation and development of the play "Who We Are" into a film screenplay. Originally produced at the New Native Theater in Minneapolis, the play explores the journey of a young Native man grappling with past traumas through dialogue and interactions between personified aspects of his personality, drawing inspiration from the Pixar film "Inside Out" while centering on Indigenous experiences and trauma. This project will culminate in a community table-read of the adapted screenplay in Eagle Butte, followed by a facilitated discussion to gather feedback and explore potential avenues for further development.

Wicahpi Luta - Red Star

This project aims to reclaim public spaces within He Sapa through the creation of a mixed-media mural. The mural will explore the connection between the past and present by incorporating images of historical significance alongside contemporary visual elements. The mural will be installed with the help of community in the store Garbage Tale Vintage, meant to evoke a sense of nostalgia and resonate with individuals who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. This project seeks to contribute to a broader understanding and appreciation of contemporary Lakota art within the community.