From left, Pte Ska Win Poor Bear, Lyle Pilcher and Jason Alley discussing the Lakota Voice Project photo exhibit in Kyle June 22. Photo by Karin Eagle.
KYLE, SOUTH DAKOTA –– “What does hope look like to you?” The introduction to business class at Oglala Lakota College in Pine Ridge posed that question to hundreds of young Lakota people, then asked them to take a picture of their answers. The results were staggering to the organizers of the project, aptly named the Lakota Voice Project. Jason Alley, creative director and principal of Message and board member of the Black Hills Chapter of the American Advertising Federation, both based out of Rapid City, approached the class with the challenge of developing an advertising campaign that could enact change in their community. The idea was simple, on the part of Alley: Let the class research, plan and develop the campaign with the mentorship of Alley and his group. The class itself, comprised of Lakota college students, came to an almost immediate agreement that the suicide prevention movement should be the focus of the campaign. Hundreds of disposable cameras were handed out to reservation schools with that one question – “What does hope look like to you?” – as the only instruction. This collection of photos will figure prominently in a suicide awareness campaign set to be launched in the fall by the Sweetgrass Project, the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s suicide prevention program. The photographs were presented to the public on the evening of June 22 at the Little Wound Elementary School auditorium. The class participated in the creation of the displays, which featured larger-than-life banners with some of the more poignant photographs. Long streamers of photographs linked together in two-sided fashion formed the centerpiece. The majority of the photographs were of family members, elders, younger children and each other. “I think it’s amazing that the kids who took these pictures were looking at each other, their peers, as what they define as hope,” said one observer of the exhibit. “I think that really says something about how they need each other and how they are important to each other.” Lyle Pilcher, one of the OLC students, said, “I think this issue is something that has touched all of us in some way. We all know somebody who has gone through the loss of a loved one to suicide, and so that was why we easily came to this decision.” According to Alley, the campaign that will kick off in the fall, after the kids return to school, will feature billboards and posters as well as videos and other media as they are available. “Humbly, I want to thank that class for what they taught me. This class of college students gave me a first glimpse of a world that few advertising professionals truly understand,” Alley said in a written statement. “And they gave me a view of a way that life can be lived that surprised me, that invigorated and enlightened me.” “They showed me, perhaps for the first time, the relevance of working in advertising,” he said. “More importantly, they are a shining example to our local advertising community.” (Contact Karin Eagle at staffwriter2@nsweekly.com) Related Stories:
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