our annual Museum newsletter

Share in our Vision — Join our Quest
Campus Tours
Are you visiting South Dakota? Would you like a tour of St. Joseph’s
campus or the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center? Campus tours are
available in a variety of ways:
The Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center’s membership program invites
friends of St. Joseph’s Indian School to be part of our vision for the future of the
Lakota children we serve.
• Self-guided audio tours: Use in your car or listen as you walk around campus at your convenience. Audio tours device can be checked out at the museum.
• Guided walking tours: Depart from the museum May – October at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm Monday – Saturday.
• Private tours: Year round, by appointment only.
Akta Lakota — to honor the people — and the museum — not only honors
the Lakota people, but also serves as an educational center for the Lakota
children at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Through education and appreciation, the
children learn to take pride in themselves and their culture.
The campus tour is approximately a mile walk. Transportation is
available; please call ahead to reserve. To schedule an appointment for a
guided tour or request transportation for a tour email muscd@stjo.org or
call 1-800-798-3452. All tour options are FREE and available to everyone.
Timelines throughout the museum offer
visitors more information.
As an outreach program of St. Joseph’s Indian School, the Akta Lakota
Museum & Cultural Center operates entirely on private contributions; you can share in our vision by becoming a
member of our Vision Quest! Please visit our website at aktalakota.org/vq to become a Vision Quest member today!
We’d love you to visit our campus.
Frequently Asked Questions . . .
Thousands of people visit our museum each year and ask a lot of questions about Native American heritage and
culture. Here are just a few of the frequently asked questions:
Q: What does counting coup mean?
A: Counting coup refers to the winning of prestige in battle by the Plains
Indians. Warriors won prestige by acts of bravery in the face of the enemy,
and these acts could be recorded in various ways and retold as stories. Any
blow struck against the enemy counted as a coup, but the most prestigious
acts included touching an enemy warrior with the hand, bow or with a coup
stick and then escaping unharmed.
Q: What is dentalium? Where did it come from?
A: Dentalium shells from the Pacific Northwest were traded throughout the
Plains Indian Tribes. Dentalium shells had both monetary and decorative value.
The shell was distributed through intertribal barter from the Pacific to the Arctic.
Native people used and esteemed shell beads above all others, and the raw
material often traveled great distances.
Q: What is catlinite?
A: Catlinite is the common term used to refer to pipestone in museum
exhibits, catalogues and elsewhere. The term catlinite has been used
since the 1830’s, after George Catlin’s visit to the quarry in Minnesota. It
was named for him because he took the stone for scientific analysis to a
mineralogist named Dr. Charles T. Jackson.
The Museum Welcomes Gifts
The Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center welcomes gifts of
Northern Plains Indian artifacts and art as well as a variety of other
historic materials about Native Americans. Contributions to the
Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, an outreach program of
St. Joseph’s Indian School a 501(c)(3) organization, are taxdeductible under IRS guidelines.
Staff members at Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center are
prohibited from providing appraisals. Researching financial value or
obtaining an official appraisal is the responsibility of the donor.
General Museum Information
Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center
St. Joseph’s Indian School
1301 North Main Street
Chamberlain, SD 57325
Phone: (605) 234-3452
Toll Free: 800-798-3452
e-mail: aktalakota@stjo.org
online @: aktalakota.org
Memberships and Affiliations
AAM — American Association of Museums
ICOM — International Council of Museums
MPMA — Mountain Plains Museum Association
ASDM — Association of South Dakota Museums
SDHS — South Dakota State Historical Society
AASLH — American Association State &
Local History
Summer Hours
May – October
8:00 am – 6:00 pm; Monday – Saturday
9:00 am – 5:00 pm; Sunday
at St. Joseph’s Indian School
FREE Admission • Gift Shop • Open all year
Newsletter sponsored by St. Joseph’s Indian School
Summer 2015
Nationally known Native American Culture Center
St. Joseph’s Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural
Center is the only Native American center of its
kind. The facility, more than a traditional museum,
tells the story of the lives of the Northern Plains
Indian peoples, their cultures, traditions, values
and history.
With over 14,000 square feet of display space, a
culturally aware layout, color-coded time lines and
an outdoor Medicine Wheel Garden, there is truly
something for everyone at the Akta Lakota Museum
& Cultural Center!
The museum’s collection features contemporary
art, historical artifacts and educational displays
depicting the heritage of the Plains Indian people.
Their story is told through interactive displays,
English-Lakota descriptions and continues in the
Gift Shop which provides local artists a venue to
market their work.
Much of the museum’s original collection
started in 1927 when gifts were received from
alumni and friends. Since the museum opened in
May 1991, many new pieces have been acquired.
Each year we continue to add relevant pieces to our
collection. In addition, the outside walls showcase
historical drawings of ten influential Lakota and
Dakota chiefs.
Winter Hours
November – April
8:00 am – 5:00 pm; Monday– Friday
Closed weekends and National Holidays
• New Exhibits
• Interactive Displays
• Medicine Wheel Garden
• After hour tours by appointment
• Bus/RV Parking
• Handicap-accessible
• Guided tours available upon request
Free Admission
Donations gratefully accepted.
Printed by Tipi Press Printing at St. Joseph’s Indian School
Camp Circle — In The Beginning
39th American Indian Day Wacipi — Powwow —
September 18 -19, 2015
Since 1976, we’ve hosted an annual powwow Gathering of the Wakáŋyeja — Children. This is an
enjoyable and anticipated event on our South Dakota
campus. It is a day set aside to honor and appreciate
the rich and beautiful heritage of all Native people, but
especially the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota tribes of the
Great Plains.
Events begin on Friday, September 18th with
cultural activities at the Recreation Center and Museum
as well as an open house and tours of the school, the
day will end with a relaxing reception and Tiyospaye
— extended family — dinner at Cedar Shore Resort.
On Saturday, join our staff and students for tours
of St. Joseph’s campus, chapel and homes; the blessing
of the powwow grounds will be held at 11:45 a.m.
with the dance contests beginning at noon and prizes
awarded after the evening meal. We will wrap-up our
weekend of celebration on Saturday, with mass at Our
Lady of the Sioux Chapel.
Museum Expands Exhibit Outdoors
Our Medicine Wheel Garden is one of our
newest exhibits at the Akta Lakota Museum. Located
just to the west of the museum along the river the
space provides students, alumni and visitors a
peaceful and inspirational respite from their daily
routines. This outdoor space was added to our
campus in the spring of 2014.
Visitors may sit in quiet meditation listening to
the sound of Mni Wiconi — Waters of life.
Contestants are divided into three age groups:
Tiny Tots, Juniors and Teens. Both the boys and girls
compete in Traditional and Fancy dance. The girls also
take part in the Jingle Dress dance, while the boys are
judged in the Grass dance.
A number of drum groups from throughout the
Dakotas also play and compete. All contestants —
drums and dancers — are eligible for cash prizes.
All powwow activities will be held at St. Joseph’s
Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Visitors
are encouraged to come early to tour the school and
campus and visit the Akta Lakota Museum and
Cultural Center.
For more information visit our website at
aktalakota.stjo.org/stjopowwow or call 800-798-3452.
The Medicine Wheel is a sacred symbol to the
Plains tribes. It represents all the knowledge of the
universe. Each color and line signifies an
important element in the circle of life. Visitors may
sit in quiet meditation among the native plants
listening to the sound of the Mni Wicóni — Waters
of Life — or stroll around the perimeter and enjoy
the Lakota directional prayers displayed on
interpretive panels resembling sacred buffalo hides.
Learn the Lakota Language ...
Without language, a culture dies. Preserving and promoting awareness of the Lakota
language is very important to St. Joseph’s Indian School and the future of the students we
serve. Learn the Lakota language starting with these words! For more words and phrases visit
our website at aktalakota.org/language.
četaŋ — (cheh•than) — Hawk
mayašleca — (mah•yah•shleh•chah) — Coyote
ptaŋ — (p•tan) — Otter
pahiŋ — (pah•heen) — Porcupine
pispisza — (pish•pee•zah) — Prairie Dog
taŋka — (ton•ka) — Big
cik’ala — (cheek•ala) — Little
wakaŋ — (wa•kan) — Holy
čekiya — (che•keya) — Pray
Hiyá — (Hee•yah) — No
Háŋ — (HahN) — Yes
Okólakičhiyapi — (O•ko•la-key-chee-ya-pee)
— Society
What people are saying
Well done exhibits. I have visited other national
Indian museums and this one rates far above the rest!
– Stace B., Michigan
The artwork is beautiful. I found the setting calm and
peaceful. Thank you!
–Maureen S., Wisconsin
Your museum is remarkable! The displays are
beautiful, the art is amazing, and the gift shop is
spectacular. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.
– Barbara G., Colorado
The museum is so much more than I expected.
Thank you for this opportunity to learn more about
the Lakota.
– Rhea L., Wyoming
See more visitor comments on the Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center at tripadvisor.com and yelp.com.
Transformation and Continuity in Lakota Culture:
The Collages of Arthur Amiotte, 1988-2014
The Akta Lakota
Museum & Cultural
Center is pleased to
collaborate with the South
Dakota State Historical
Society to bring the work
of renowed Lakota artist
and scholar Arthur Amiotte
to the Akta Lakota
Museum May 4 – October
1, 2015.
Born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,
Amiotte has become one of the nation’s most
celebrated Native American artist, with artwork in
the Joslyn, Hood, Whitney and Denver art
museums, the Minneapolis Institute and the Akta
Lakota’s own permanent collection.
Known best for his signature use of mixed
media collage to create a visual cultural biography
of the Lakota that highlights the steps they took
toward assimilating to European-American culture.
He juxtaposes imagery from traditional Lakota
culture with images that represent white culture.
These seemingly incongruous images layered
together offers a sense of the cultural confusion
the Lakota experienced during the process of
assimilation and pays tribute to a collective
Lakota culture.
One image that echoes throughout many of
Amiotte’s collages is a photograph of a Matheson
Six touring car by John Anderson. Amiotte depicts
Lakota men in full ceremonial dress riding in the
car. Although it appears somewhat comical,
Amiotte explains that “the automobile is the
symbolic vehicle of social and cultural change my
people have had to ride in order to survive a
world order driven by change and progress.”
Amiotte’s background is rife with traditional
Lakota artistry that he acquired from his
maternal grandmother, Christina Standing Bear,
and is the spiritual influence of Lakota shaman
and Sun Dance priest Pete Catches. Among
Amiotte’s strongest artist influence is Oscar
Howe. After meeting Howe, Amoitte realized
he could develop his artistic voice by
incorporating, his Lakota background into
contemporary art-making techniques. Thus,
his signature style emerged.
Not only a renowned artist, Amiotte is a
sought-after scholar, educator and speaker on
Lakota art and culture. He has served in an
advisory role to the director of the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of the American Indian and
to the Presidential Council for the Performing
Arts at the Kennedy Center. Amiotte has also
served as a commissioner of the Department of
Interior’s Indian Arts and Crafts Board and
member of the Regents Council of the Institute of
the American Indian Arts and currently serves as
a member of the Akta Lakota Museum Collection
Advisory Committee.