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Winter art comes to the Black Hills




Jim Yellow Hawk “Morning Star”

Jim Yellow Hawk “Morning Star”

The Black Hills American Indian Art Market opened with a blessing ceremony by Jerry Yellow Hawk. He began by speaking of the words from an old Neil Diamond song, “I Am, I Said.” He said, “These are great philosophical, meaningful words. A person must find that place who you are and never be ashamed.” He then sang a blessing song in Lakota, the words of which meant much the same as the Neil Diamond song.

The Banquet Hall was filled with Native Artists displaying and selling their art which included music, painting, pottery, jewelry, sculpture and other many other beautiful and diverse items.

Jim Yellow Hawk’s display spoke of his many travel experiences. He has visited New Zealand and Switzerland, where he not only exhibits and sells his art, but also does traditional dances and teaches about the Lakota way. He was surrounded by years of work, but when asked about his favorite piece, he said, “Morning Star. It represents family,” he said, and it was his family. “That’s my little boy, and my wife. She passed away eight years ago. That’s why it has special meaning.”

Jerry Yellow Hawk opened the Black Hills American Indian Art Market with a blessing ceremony.

Jerry Yellow Hawk opened the Black Hills American Indian Art Market with a blessing ceremony.

William R. LeRoy is a Sicangu Lakota from Rosebud. An artist/interpreter, he is a “Warrior Nomad Artist.” Warriors were not only fighters, but protectors as well. He and his fiancé Lisa work with St. Frances Mission on Rosebud doing clothing drives and, at Christmas, toy drives to help out the most poverty-stricken individuals on the Reservation. They also contribute things not just from drives, but also items they find at yard sales, rummage sales and other opportunities. LeRoy believes, as his grandparents taught him, that you must lead by example, and that actions speak louder than words. He says that’s what Warriors did as protectors. The Lakota of old were also nomads and he is a nomad, travelling from place to place selling his art.

LeRoy’s favorite medium is painting with oils, acrylics and watercolor, but he does enjoy drawing as well. When he graduated college with his art degree, the only place that would allow him to work was a tattoo shop, so he did a two-year apprenticeship there, and then worked at the shop for two more years. When the shop moved to Texas, “I decided to stay in South Dakota and continue working as an interpreter and teaching my Lakota heritage as a job and doing my art on the side, hoping to get a gallery someday.” He works in Deadwood at Tatanka: Story of the Bison owned by actor Kevin Costner.

Jennifer White standing with her impressive collection.

Jennifer White standing with her impressive collection.

Brandis B. Knudsen of Dakota South Records was selling his music, which included his remake of “Come and Get Your Love,” a remix of the 1974 hit by Native American rock group Redbone. His remix has won the 2016 Native American Music Awards Single of the Year award and been nominated for five other music awards. With him was Wanbli Ceya, a singer/ songwriter and youth activist from Red Shirt, SD.

The display of Evans Flammond, Sr. was filled with a variety of artistic styles and subjects, but all connected to the Native belief and way of life. He said of his ledger art, “The vision is in my mind to carry on the tradition and boldly add more color and letting it evolve like art and everything does. The rocks, the river, everything is evolving, so is art. So I don’t stick to that same old long ago art where you see the same thing. I do art with the guitar, the shell dancer, and other things.”

Flammond spoke of another painting and said, “I got a client in New Zealand. This one brought a tear to his eye. That feeling of bringing a tear to someone’s eye is more fulfilling than a million dollars.”

Flammond also spoke of his trip to Brazil. When he was there, he saw artists working communally only on certain days because of the lack of electrical power, water, and the availability of a building due to the poverty in the area. He said he would like to see all the artists from the reservation get together sometimes, just congregate, make some art, share some pizzas, and get all that creativity together.

His gallery, Dream Horse Creations, is in Red Cloud, Oglala.

Jennifer White’s (Sioux Falls, SD) collection was like Jennifer: small in size, but huge in impact. The center painting, 5’ x 5,’ was done in bright colors and shows two Native women standing in what seemed solidarity. There were other paintings of women in various aspects of sister-hood. This is part of a running series called “Sisters.” She hopes to do a retrospect and get them all together “years down the road.” She is also doing a series of Daliesque buffalo paintings which consist of a monochromatic paint scheme with a bright splash of color. She owns Post-Pilgrim Art Gallery in Sioux Falls, SD.

The Market was held on Saturday, November 24 at the Rushmore Holiday Inn. This was the fourth year the Winter Market was held and they were full to capacity according to Deborah Gangloff, Director of Rural America Initiatives. Rural American Initiatives began the market four years ago as a way to bring buyers and sellers together during the winter because there were no other venues for artists to sell their work. It has been more and more successful each year.

(kat.holmgren@gmail.com)

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