A bronze bust of Vine Deloria Jr. is seen in the First Nations Sculpture Garden at Halley Park in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo by

Opinion

Elizabeth Cook-Lynn: More in store at First Nations Sculpture Garden

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

First Nations Sculpture Garden: Four statues are just the beginning

By Professor Elizabeth Cook-Lynn
Native Sun News Today Columnist
nativesunnews.today

A year ago last November, nearly two hundred members of the Rapid City art and education community stood next to an eighty year old stone building located at 515 W. Blvd in Rapid City, to honor the achievements of four 20th century Sioux Indians in the fields of Medicine, Art, Philosophy and Law.

The permanent bronze busts, sculpted by the well-known Oglala artist Marilyn Wounded Head, were viewed then (as they are today), in the chilly fall air enjoying a legend of human creation and the bringing of Plains Indian culture to a city that often neglects the history of its Indian past.

This project, begun by an all-volunteer board of tribal people from the reservations in South Dakota has been meant to add to the framework for understanding the culture and history of the Oyate, through the 20th century lives and works of Charles Eastman (Santee), Nicholas Black Elk (Oglala), Oscar Howe (Ihanktowan) and Vine Deloria, Jr. (Hunkpapa).

What has been completed today of the First Nations Sculpture Garden project is Phase I of an Art/History monument begun in 2014 by forward looking advisors who wanted to offer a token of appreciation for the contemporary works of the honorees. Many of the board members knew these men personally, and considered them relatives.

They knew, too, that during the worst of times, these scholars worked to protect the sacred ceremonies and beliefs and experiences of the Oyate. These were men who spent their lives preserving for future generations the Northern Plains history, customs and beliefs of their ancestors.

Since that November day a year ago, when the installation of the bronze replicas of four 20th century Sioux Indian Scholars took place at the city park they have been viewed by hundreds of locals, visitors, historians and educators who show an appreciation for the past. Placed in a significant historical setting in the midst of this historic city, this first-of- a-kind Art/History monument pays respect for the achievements of these important figures in Medicine, Art, Philosophy and Law of the past century. They remind us that the availability of past achievements in history is one of the function of Public Art.

After a year of viewing the beginning phase of this on-going project, the board of directors has begun to direct today’s interest toward continuing the development of this tiny garden into its History Phase #II. Fund raising will begin next year to install a time line of dates and events in Sioux History starting with the 1868 Treaty Period. Circles of inscriptions will present the event-filled legacy of the past century. Many people in our community area familiar with the Halley Park and stone building site as the place of the original Sioux Indian Museum (1932), which since the 1970’s has been available at the Journey Museum.

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Elizabeth Cook-Lynn is a member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, born and raised at Fort Thompson, South Dakota. The University of Nebraska Press published her memoir In Defense of Loose Translations this summer.