Thrilled to be sponsoring the 3rd annual Eugene Reddest Memorial Youth Award at the 72nd annual Potato Creek Wacipi September 13,14,15 2019!
This award, in memory of our dear kola Eugene Reddest, will honor an upcoming boy and girl dancer with a certificate, Mitakuye backpack, art bag, and $100 cash prize! Mitakuye will also be co-sponsoring a dinner to celebrate the youth and honor the memory of our dear friend. Open to all dancers through age 18.
So much love and gratitude for this fierce warrior who made her journey this morning.
Reverend Dr. Gwynne Guibord was a giant in fostering peace and understanding between different faiths and cultures. But there is a side of her that many don’t know about.
With her partner Lo, Gwynne was a staunch advocate for Lakota youth and the work we do on Pine Ridge. The Mitakuye Foundation would not be serving young people the way it is today without the support, care, and concern of these two ladies.
From supporting our film Holy Man, to helping us to get our 501c3 processed, to supporting the prayer runs and youth art programs … Gwynne and Lo’s support has always been far more than financial. Their love and care and concern for the Lakota people is inspirational.
Anyone who has benefitted from any of our programs on any level can thank these ladies. And tonight I would ask you all to say a prayer for Gwynne as she makes her journey and a prayer for Lo as she faces this new chapter in her life.
Deep sadness today – but also such deep gratitude for our dear, dear friend and ally. We know she will be continuing her work from the other side.
Thrilled to announce that 3 of our student films will be screening at the 2019 Pine Ridge Indigenous Film Festival! ThunderCamp (2018), Autumn’s Fall (2019), and ThunderCamp2 (2019)! Links to these films and more coming soon …
Congratulations to all of the students for their hard work!!
Mitakuye Summer 2019 Programs are a WRAP!
So Much Beauty!!
It has been an incredible summer of programs on Pine Ridge! WOPILA to all of the donors, teachers, volunteers, staff, and partners who help make this happen!
In the upcoming days we will be sharing posts on our Hoye Wayelo Arts Immersion Programs in Kyle, Pine Ridge, Wanblee, the Black Hills, and the 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Prayer Run. Here are a few highlights to start:
We are thrilled and honored to announce that our special guest teacher and elder for the Black Hills Summer Arts Academy is acclaimed Lakota author, teacher, artist and historian Joseph Marshall III.
Joseph Marshall III was born on the Rosebud Indian reservation in SD. Raised in a traditional household, his first language was Lakota and he was trained in the ancient tradition of oral storytelling. He is one of the founding members of Sinte Gleska University and has spent years teaching university and high school students. He has developed curricula in Lakota Language and Native American Studies and developed a leadership seminar based on the leadership lessons of Crazy Horse
Joseph is most well known as an award winning writer. He has published fourteen nonfiction works, three novels, a collection of short stories and essays, two children’s books, several screenplays, and was contributing author in five other publications. His work has been translated into numerous foreign languages and he has traveled across the US and abroad as a speaker and lecturer.
Joseph has worked in the film and television industry both as an actor and narrator. He has also worked behind the scenes, as a consultant and technical advisor, and is a Fellow in the Sundance Institute. Josephs is also a practitioner of primitive Lakota archery, having learned from his maternal grandfather the art of hand-crafting bows and arrows, and is a specialist in wilderness survival.
We are thrilled beyond measure to be able to share this living treasure with the youth!
Our Summer Programs are right around the corner and we are busy gathering supplies, scheduling classes, and sifting through record-breaking numbers of student applications! As always – all of our programs are completely free for students … and we need your support!
Our Hoye Wayelo (“I Am Sending A Voice”) Summer Arts Immersion Programs bring local artists and visiting artists from all over the globe to teach classes in Dance, Music/Music Production, Film, Visual Art, Theater, Photography, Writing, and a full spectrum of Traditional Arts. We will be doing programs across the reservation and at our Summer Arts Academy in the Black Hills.
The Annual 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Prayer Run takes kids on a 500 mile relay around an ancient route to sacred sites in the Black Hills where they will learn about their language, tradition, and history.
The work we do focuses on arts education and suicide prevention. All of our work is life affirming – which by its very nature is a major factor in suicide prevention. The programs create a safe space for young people to express themselves and teaches them tools of expression that can help them navigate some of the unimaginable hardships they are dealing with.
Check out some highlights from last Summer here:
https://mitakuyefoundation.com/summer-2018/
You can make tax deductible donations here:
https://mitakuyefoundation.com/donate/
Thank you for supporting these deserving young people!
A beautiful way to start Spring! We connected with over 3,000 students at schools across the reservation sharing our art programs and handing out awards to our Art Contest winners and our Creator’s Club participants!
Join us for a 6 day Arts Intensive in the sacred Black Hills! Local and visiting artists from around the globe will teach classes in Dance, Filmmaking, Music, Music Production, Writing, Photography, Visual Art, Theater, and a full spectrum of Traditional Arts. Applications due May 31st!
We are UPGRADING the LIFELINE and we need a new POSTER!
We are conducting a special art contest to come up with a design for a new poster for our updated LIFELINE, which now includes a text line that kids can text if they need someone to talk to. The winner wins a cash prize, art supplies, a certificate, and gets to work with a professional graphic designer! DEADLINE is MAY 25th.
Congratulations to everyone who submitted to our February 2019 Art Contest: LAKOTA! We awarded artists in three age categories. Every student who enters earns points every time they submit, to save up for great prizes in our Creator’s Club!
Congratulations to all our winners!
