Traveling exhibit asks TAKUWE-why?

The Lakota Educational Art Exhibitions Project is now touring the Takuwe exhibition to museums across South Dakota. The idea for the exhibit is one Lakota word: Takuwe—in English, “Why?” The focus of the exhibition is the 1890 massacre of Lakotas at Wounded Knee, along with historical context leading to the massacre and contemporary context related to land issues and opportunities at Wounded Knee today.

Takuwe (pronounced DAW-ku-way) opened at The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School in March, is now on exhibit at the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center and moves to the South Dakota Art Museum in November. The catalog for this exhibition features the artworks and poems, with an included link to digital copies of audio recordings of the poets reading their work. The Takuwe catalogs are available for purchase by the general public at each host institution, or directly from CAIRNS at www.nativecairns.org.

"Wounded Knee III"

by Arthur Amiotte (Oglala Sioux Tribe), acrylic collage 36.5 x 48.75

The exhibit, developed by the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS) and supported by a South Dakota Arts Council grant, begins with positives and ends with a call to action. Over 300 Lakotas are participating in the exhibit, including 30 visual artists who created original works for the core of the exhibit. Seven poets and 12 musicians are also included, along with an installation piece of 300 small artworks, each a five-inch square. The creators of these 300 artworks represent the 300 Lakotas massacred at Wounded Knee.

While the museum-based Takuwe exhibition is on display across South Dakota, CAIRNS is also developing a “community-based” version, with high-quality photographs of the visual art professionally printed on display boards. Elements of the museum-based version, including the poem and song panels, will be included. Because this version will consist of reproductions of the original artworks, which can be quickly printed at a low cost if lost or damaged, the community-based exhibit will be able to tour statewide at venues that typically cannot host art exhibitions.

“A Time of Many Tears,”

by Monty Fralick (Oglala Sioux Tribe), fabric 30.5 x 30.5.

CAIRNS has exhibited community-based versions of past exhibits at a variety of locations including a school gymnasium in Pine Ridge Reservation, a hotel conference room in Pierre, a convent meeting room in Aberdeen and a hospital atrium in Sioux Falls. This flexibility affords rural communities and nonmuseum goers the opportunity to engage with content typically only presented at urban museums. The benefit for the exhibitions’ artists is similarly significant; not only does this increase exposure to their art, it also enables many reservation-based artists to see their work exhibited within their home communities.

The Lakota Educational Art Exhibitions Project is a continuation of the series of annual art exhibitions that CAIRNS has organized since 2015. These exhibitions advance knowledge of Lakota culture, art and artists throughout South Dakota’s urban and rural communities by focusing on a specific Lakota narrative or historical event. The exhibitions provide exposure to emerging Lakota artists and help them connect with established artists. The exhibitions also demonstrate the breadth and diversity of Lakota arts today and provide opportunities for Lakotas to take on leadership roles in South Dakota, a state where such representation is extremely low, despite a significant American Indian population.

Dr. Craig Howe

Director of the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS)

Exhibitions such as Takuwe are only possible if artists are willing to share their talents and creative insights through their artworks,” said Dr. Craig Howe, Director of CAIRNS and curator of the exhibit. “Similarly, exhibitions such as this one can only be realized when museums are not only willing and able to host them, but proactively encourage and support their development. The Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies deeply appreciates our exhibition partners for their central roles in developing Takuwe and sharing it with their visitors.

To learn more about Takuwe and the community-based exhibit materials, or any of the other Lakota Educational Art Exhibitions Projects, visit www.nativecairns.org.

Contact:

Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS) (605)685-6484 info@nativecairns.org

Published by Arts South Dakota, www.ArtsSouthDakota.org #ArtsSD