Cover Story

By Virginia Olson

Photos by Kelly Middlebrooks

Han, Mitakuyapi! Wasicu ia Kyrie Dunkley emakiyapi, (Hello My Relatives! My English name is Kyrie Dunkley) Dakhota ia Wichapi Iyoyunpa Wi emakiyapi ye. (My Dakota name is Shining Star Woman) Damakhota na MaLakhota: (I am Dakota and Lakota) Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate omawapi (I am enrolled in the Sisseton Wahpeton Tribe) Toka Nuwan hematahan, Inyan Okabdeca Othun ed wati. (I am from Enemy Swim, I live in Sioux Falls)

For Kyrie Dunkley introducing herself is about more than just telling someone her name. It’s sharing where she came from – Oceti Sakowin (The Seven Council Fires) referring to collectively the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota-speaking people. But where she “came from” isn’t just the location of where she lives, but rather what defines her.

“I start with a greeting, introducing myself in Dakota then English. I provide the name of the tribe to which I am enrolled along with my immediate family origin. It’s a more personal way introductions are done as Native Americans.”

South Dakota is home to nine reservations: Cheyenne River; Crow Creek; Flandreau, Lower Brule; Oglala; Rosebud; Sisseton Wahpeton; Standing Rock, and Yankton. “My mother is Oglala and my father is Sisseton Wahpeton, and Spirit Lake.”

Kyrie is proud to be Dakota/Lakota and sees it as a source of inspiration. The 32-year-old Indigenous stylist, artist, and designer creates ribbon

skirts and shirts – historical and traditional clothing that has symbolized Native heritage for over 400 years. Branded Shinin Star Style, the brightly colored ribbon skirts are traditional pieces of clothing for many Native American women and girls as they honor their heritage. Interestingly, the traditional ribbon skirt was spotlighted when Interior Secretary Deb Haaland wore it for her swearing-in ceremony in 2021.

“The Native clothing is part of an evolution. From the buckskin attire to cloth and ribbons, it is similar to the evolution of the star quilts and buffalo robes,” she explains.

Kyrie’s skirts are mostly A-line, usually satin or cotton, and have layers of ribbons. The ribbons sewn onto skirts are multiplecolored; each color has a special significance to the wearer. Custom pieces sometimes include very intricate applique work.

Kyrie calls her skirts “wearable art.”

“Each is one-of-a-kind, handmade, and a form of highly expressive art. I use lots of monochromes, and the colors are intentional. The skirt is meant to inspire confidence and offer identity and connection. The Indigenous ribbon work always tells a story. Each collection has a particular theme. Her off-the-rack items can be found at Sweetgrass Soapery/All Walks Trading Post in downtown Sioux Falls where she sells her ribbon skirts, shirts, and DIY ribbon skirt kits.

“The ribbon skirt today for me represents strength and resiliency.” Kyrie says her upbringing played a big part in her passion to maintain this traditional craftwork. “I come from a large family of aunts and uncles. My Hunka (adopted) Mom, Robin Bowen, raised me until I was 14. I moved many times, and I attended a new school every two years. Robin encouraged Oceti Sakowin teachings and history at every school we attended through exhibitions – storytelling, songs, and dance. I learned a lot about my Native culture and the meaning of having a tiospaye (extended family) by gathering consistently with other indigenous families in the area. I danced at powwows, participated in drum ceremonies, watched my aunties put together regalia and I learned how to bead pens.”

Though Kyrie watched others create traditional clothing, she didn’t start sewing until she “entered motherhood.” “It was then that I realized I wanted to pass on to my child the same cultural experiences and provide him with a strong foundation of selfidentity to fall back on. As a traditional Native mother, I started nesting by making his baby moccasins and a star quilt.”

While her Hunka Mom Robin influenced Kyrie to embrace her Native roots, it was her late husband Matthew, Sr. who inspired her to be bold and follow her passions. “Matthew was a Red Lake enrolled tribal member. He was an artist, musician, actor, activist, and 10-year war veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He always told me: ‘Stop hesitating, nothing changes if nothing changes.’ When my husband passed away in May of 2018, I suddenly became a widow with a two-year-old son. I turned to sewing to help me work through my grief. During this time, I

~ Kyrie Dunkley

~ Kyrie Dunkley learned a lot about mental health, historical trauma, and intergenerational trauma. Matthew’s inspiring words always stayed with me, pushing me to get out of my comfort zone.”

Looking back, Kyrie now realizes it was Robin and Matthew who together showed her the deeper meaning of the Indigenous culture. Their influence guided her determination to preserve its history and pass it along.

Before COVID-19, Kyrie was the afterschool Native Youth Club activities teacher for the Multi-Cultural Center in Sioux Falls. It was during the quarantine in May of 2020 she put together her first clothing collection and presented a Virtual Fashion Show Fundraiser dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in partnership with South Dakota Urban Indian Health (SDUIH) with the funds going to a local Indigenous women’s leadership group.

These days, Kyrie is finding more ways to bring attention to the longstanding craft and Native culture by instructing ribbon skirt-making workshops along with sewing for Native high school seniors as a way of celebration. “I consider myself involved in ‘Indianpreneurship” as my eye for design isn’t limited to just ribbon work.”

This last year she has immersed herself in everything Native. In May, she organized a pop-up round dance in Sioux Falls sponsored by the A.I.M. Medicine Wheel COVID Prevention and Healing Project. She was an emerging fashion designer and model for the 1st annual First American Museum and Teton Trade Cloth Fashion Summit this past summer. She modeled again for the “Walking in Beauty” Fashion show at the Black Hills PowWow 2022. She is also a board member of the Indigenous Nations United 501 (c) non-profit as well as a teaching artist for the South Dakota Arts Council. Recently, she played a part in the ITN film “Uprising” directed by Christopher Forbes, and was the Indigenous stylist for most of the native actors on set.

She views this new stage of her life as a form of activism and connection for the Native community. “Everything I now do is a physical expression of who I am,” says Kyrie.

From fashion shows to teaching basic cultural skills outlined in the SD Office of Indian Education Essential Understandings and Standards, she embraces her Dakota/ Lakota culture as it ribbons through her life. “I now teach sewing and ribbon skirt class presentations and share cultural stories. I especially enjoy working with schools and the community to provide sewing services to preserve our culture and encourage our current generation to continue indigenizing their spaces through expressive art. Sewing is everything; it helped mend my soul.”

For Kyrie the ribbon art carries a metaphor of intention – that happiness is a tight ribbon that holds life together. Her advice: “Do what makes your soul shine.” n