Wind Cave National Park celebrates Native American Day today with a full slate of activities that celebrate the art and living culture of the region’s Native American communities, including the dedication of the park’s newest sculpture.
Artist Kelly Looking Horse will take part in the 11:30 dedication in the Visitors Center lobby of “Sacred Hoop” or “Cȟaŋgléška-Wakȟan” in Lakota, a work that stands over 20-feet and reaches into the skylight.
Park Supt Leigh Welling says Looking Horse will tell the story of creating the statue and explain the philosophical influences of each part.
Native Americans’ Day events at Wind Cave kick off at 9:00 in the Visitors Center Auditorium with a welcome from Welling and remarks by National Park Service Native American Affairs Liaison Dorothy FireCloud.
That’s followed at 9:30 by a presentation from Oglala Lakota metalsmith Jhon Goes in Center, who played a seminal role in the revival and adaptation of plains metalwork. “Another America and a Regional Landscape” highlights the Black Hills as a pivotal cultural and creative landscape for Indigenous peoples.
At 10:30, award-winning fashion designer Tosa Two Heart will discuss her journey in design and the aesthetic influences of her contemporary clothing designs in a talk titled, “Lakota Storytelling Through Fashion Design.”
Activities move outside in the afternoon with world-renowned hoop dancers Starr Chief Eagle and Jasmine Bell at 1:30. The final presentation is from Sicangu Lakota author, musician, and actress Emmy Her Many Horses at 3:30
In a talk titled “Classical, Traditional, Ancestral: What Makes it Native?,” Her Many Horses relates her personal experience within a university music program and its tension with her own culturally-based systems of knowing.
Native American artists will be on hand throughout the day at booths so visitors can learn about the continuum of Native American cultural expression and purchase art from local artists. A food truck with Native American selections will also be available.
All the Native Americans’ Day Celebration demonstrations are free and appropriate for all ages. Funding is provided by the Black Hills Parks and Forests Association, a non-profit partner of Wind Cave National Park.