Continuity and Diversity showcases more than 60 paintings, fabric works, and collages created between 1967 and the present by Arthur Amiotte, a renowned Lakota artist with an international reputation. This retrospective—the most comprehensive presentation of his work to date—traces six distinct phases of the artist’s creative development, offering a profound look into his evolving vision […]

Selvage & Salvage: Images of Belief is a collaborative exhibition featuring the photography of John Moler and the collage paintings of Arthur Amiotte. The exhibition explores the persistence, evolution, and transformation of the Lakota Christian experience through the lens of church architecture. Supported by a grant from the South Dakota Arts Council, Moler and Amiotte […]

The Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center at St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain is proud to host Native Waters: Sharing the Source, a new traveling exhibition and film exploring the Missouri River Basin. Developed by the Native Waters Project at Montana State University–Bozeman in collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota, this exhibition brings […]

The Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center is proud to present its newest exhibition, The Gift of the Sacred Pipe – The Seven Rites of the Lakota by artist Vera Louise Drysdale. This powerful series includes eight gouache paintings and 29 pencil sketches illustrating the sacred rites of the Lakota people. The collection was generously […]

Lakota Emergence focuses entirely on the short Lakota emergence narrative titled “How the Lakota Came Upon the World,” written down by James Walker sometime between 1896, when he first arrived at Pine Ridge to serve as the agency’s physician, and 1917 when it was published by the American Museum of Natural History. The exhibit divides […]

According to Lakota legend, long ago there was a great race between the four-leggeds and the two-leggeds.  The purpose was to determine which of the two groups of contestants would have precedence over the other.  One unintended consequence of the race was the Black Hills were caused to come into being.  The Great Race focuses […]

The Tapun Sa Win (taw-poon sha ween) narrative is organized around a story about a beautiful young Lakota woman (Tapun Sa Win, or Red Cheek Woman) who married a star and went to live with him in the sky.  Near the due date for the birth of her baby, she inadvertently created a hole in […]

“Takuwe,” which in English means “why,” centers on re-imagining the senseless slaughter of 300 Lakotas on December 29, 1890. The narrative structure of “Takuwe” is based on the words of Lakotas who were there in 1890 and 1891. Their recollections and reflections guide visitors through the exhibition in seven chronological periods: The exhibition includes songs, […]