News

“This program has been essential in uplifting our children in such a powerful and positive way. “

– Cynthia New Holy, Teacher,  Isna Wica Owayawa

Now in our 5th year, the Mitakuye School Arts Program enrolls over 2,000 kids each year, providing them with arts curriculum, instruction – via our filmed lessons, and art supplies. We filmed a whole new season of lessons this year and introduced several new mediums into the curriculum. Here are some of our classrooms in action!

We filmed our latest season of lessons with master arts educator and instructor Vicky Kosuda…

Our new lessons incorporated new mediums and expanded our offerings for all age groups and levels…

This is what some of our teachers have to say about the program:

“The Mitakuye Foundation has been a huge support for our community on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The work of the Mitakuye Foundation has been so essential  in our community that deals with poverty, generational traumas, and limited resources to the art world. This program has been essential in uplifting our children in such a powerful and positive way.”

– Cynthia New Holy, Teacher,  Isna Wica Owayawa

“The Mitakuye School Arts Program provides students with many new learning opportunities. The program is the answer to a lack of consistent art instruction on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.“

– Shawn Callanan, Teacher, Wolf Creek

“Art allows our students to showcase who they are and truly express themselves. The programs offered by the Mitakuye Foundation allow us as a school to provide more opportunities to our students to do just that. There is nothing better than seeing the smiles on the students’ faces when they hear that it is art time! They truly light up! Seeing the skills they learn from the videos being applied to their art and in other areas is amazing. We are so lucky to have been working with the Mitakuye Foundation and we hope to continue our partnership for years to come!”

– Alexis Hogan, Teacher He Dog School

“This is a beautiful program that gives students many different perspectives from different levels. The lessons are beautifully done. They love that you go step by step especially since many think they can’t do it… and the cheers after they are done are so amazing … what an amazing gift for these students to have.“

– Teresa Graham, Teacher, Red Cloud High School

“Mitakuye is a great program that allows our Indigenous students to experience different art mediums that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to be exposed to. Students love getting to experiment with different mediums and express themselves through art. Pilamayaye Mitakuye for the opportunity!”

-Jessi Bean, Teacher, American Horse School

“I value your program so much and appreciate all that you are able to offer to our students!! Mitakuye Art has made me an art teacher! Thank you!!“

– Anne Abold, Teacher, Wolf Creek

“Art was not in our program. The supplies you sent were the only art supplies we had this school year for art. Art is in our hearts and hands, the children are natural artists!”

– Twila Zephier, Teacher, Little Wound School

“The students love art and this is so important. Thank you for this opportunity to have Art in our school again. “

– Theresa Lessert, Principal, Our Lady of Lourdes School

“The impact of the Foundation has changed the opportunities available for the youth on the reservation. Community members look to the Mitakuye Foundation as a positive youth force and a positive change agent for the reservation.”

– Saunie Wilson, Formal Tribal Judge and Dean Of Students, Wolf Creek School

Our School Arts program is our most popular and far reaching endeavor to date. We are hoping to focus more resources and energy on this program so we can continue to expand our library of lessons and expand the reach of the program to serve as many kids as possible.

We hope you will click HERE to help us to continue to bring the healing power of art to the wonderful young people we work with!

We are absolutely thrilled to announce the launch of Richard Moves Camp’s new book My Grandfather’s Altar. The book was edited by Mitakuye co-founder Simon J. Joseph, Ph.D., produced by Mitakuye co-founder and Director Jennifer Jessum, published by the University of Nebraska Press, and created under the auspices of the Mitakuye Foundation’s Elders Project.

From the onset of the Mitakuye Foundation, we understood that one of the greatest resources kids on the reservation have is their elders and so they have been woven in to every facet of the work we do with students. Being able to help bring this book into the world has been a true honor and being able to help preserve this knowledge for young people is the fruition of a vital aspect of our mission to create programs and opportunities that uplift and empower Native youth!

You can read more about the process of bringing this book into the world and details on how to order it here: https://simonjjoseph.com/books/my-grandfathers-altar/

Donate HERE to help us continue to do work like this

2023 was full of creativity at Mitakuye! Our year started off with over 2,000 kids engaged in our weekly art lessons through our School Arts program!

Our Spring Arts Contest received submissions from schools all over the reservation!

Our Summer Programs were in full swing, starting with the 40th annual Sacred Hoop Run. Over 200 kids and supporters participated!

Our Art Days program brought classes to kids at schools around the reservation!

Our Black Hills Arts Academy brought kids from Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations for a week of creativity in their ancestral homelands.

Our group project this year focused on kids creating 3 dimensional costume and art designs that were featured in a special short film project Takoja.

We created a new series of lessons for the 2023-2024 School Arts Program:

In the fall we were able to visit with our student Nora Marshall in Idyllwild, CA. Through our mentoring program we were able to advocate for Nora to receive a full scholarship at the Idyllwild Arts Academy!

Here are some photos from an impromptu art experiment we created with Nora earlier in the year:

We are also thrilled to announce the completion of a book project we helped bring into the world! My Grandfather’s Altar is the family history and memoir of Richard Moves Camp. The book was edited by Mitakuye co-founder Simon J. Joseph, Ph.D., produced by Mitakuye co-founder and Director Jennifer Jessum, published by the University of Nebraska Press, and created under the auspices of the Mitakuye Foundation. This is a first draft of the cover we designed for the project which is due to launch in Spring of 2024!

You can donate HERE to help us keep the creativity flowing in 2024!

We had a busy summer of programs and want to send out a huge Wopila to everyone who shared their resources to help us make this happen for the kids!

Summer started off with the 40th Annual 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Run!

We spent time in the schools with our Art Days programs!

The highlight of our summer programs is a week of making art at our Black Hills Arts Academy.

One of the highlights of the academy was our special short film project which we will be releasing later this year. Here is a sneak peak of some of the amazing artwork and 3D character/costume design  done by our students using all natural materials.

Stay tuned for a special post about the film project and designs!

Congratulations to everyone who submitted to our SPRING 2023 contest! The theme for this contest was SPRING!! Students are invited to interpret the theme in any way they wish. They can submit paintings, drawings, writing, photography, films, collage, music, dance … anything the theme inspires them to use.

We award artists in different age categories from Kindergarten up through high school. Winners receive cash prizes and art supplies. All students who submit receive certificates and acknowledgements. Below are some of our top submissions. Congratulations to all of our winners!

Grand Prize: Kinsey Hill Age 15

First Place Winners

Honorable Mention and Merit Award Winners

The 500 MILE SACRED HOOP PRAYER RUN is an annual run that serves over 150 Lakota youth. Kids run a 5-day, 500-mile relay that follows a sacred loop around the Black Hills and many other sacred sites in Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. Along the way the kids participate in ceremony, prayer, and traditional teachings. The run is based on the Creation story of the Lakota people which refers to a Great Race around the Black Hills between the “two-leggeds” and the “four-leggeds. The youth run in prayer for causes close to their hearts and to relieve the suffering of the people.

We have been sponsoring the 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Run since 2012

Our documentary film about the run Before They Were Horsemen … (formerly Sacred Hoop)is currently in post-production and aiming for release this year. See a sneak peak HERE

The Mitakuye School Arts Program serves over 2,000 kids on Pine Ridge and neighboring reservations every year! We provide arts curriculum, arts instruction – through our filmed art lessons, and supplies to kids in schools across Pine Ridge, Rosebud and surrounding areas.

For the 2023-2024 academic year we are looking to add another catalogue of lessons to our library and expand the program to film elders and master Lakota artists teaching courses on bead work, leather work, and other traditional arts.

Some of our lessons from our current library:

Our Summer Arts programs serve hundreds of kids across Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and surrounding areas. Some of our summer programs include our Art Days and School Residencies, Summer Art Challenges, and our week long Black Hills Arts Academy. We also support a variety of community events including youth pow-wows and The Annual 500 mile Sacred Hoop Run.

We travels to schools and communities to hold our Art Days events with creative lessons and art kits for all participants.

Art Pop-Ups and residencies bring art directly into communities:

The culmination of our summer programming is our Black Hills Arts Academy which brings in kids for a week long immersive program in their ancestral lands. Local artists and visiting artists from around the globe teach classes in Dance, Music, Music Production, Visual Arts, Filmmaking, Photography, Writing, and a full spectrum of Traditional Arts including: Quillwork, Traditional Brain-Tanning, Beadwork, Plant Medicines, Sewing, and Music.

While we are working on our new web pages we wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to all of our sponsors who help keep our programs running!

Thank you to our major supporters:

Lo Sprague & the Sprague/Guibord Family Foundation

Metabolic Studio with the Annenberg Foundation

Meera Levine & The Bill & Bonnie Levine Foundation

Mike & Lori Hendrickson

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Nation

And to hundreds of people that contribute every year through our fundraising efforts – thank you! Special shouts out to a few long-time supporters who keep us going:

Janet Roston & Barry Weiss, Elizabeth Casebolt, Stacey McKenzie, Jillian Harris, Diann Sichel, Louis Herthum, Roy Vongtama, Elizabeth Casebolt, Melissa Rathbone, Vida Vierra & Rainbow Body Matrix, Mary Gleason, Maureen Milligan, Jean Rousseau, Sachi Amatya & Aditya Kalavagunta, Beverly Carmen, Chitra Pal, Swami Sarvadevananda, Marylyn Lewark, Jennifer Klisak, Jason Coppola, Terry Pechota, Melody Walsh, Alan Salaway aka Lil’ Native Boy …

And thank you to the communities, schools, and organizations we partner with on Pine Ridge & Rosebud and beyond:

Red Shirt School

Loneman School – Isna Wica Owayawa

Red Cloud Indian School

Oelrichs School

Pine Ridge School

Wolf Creek School

Lakota Tech High School

Batelsand School

American Horse School

Our Lady of Lourdes School – Porcupine

Anpo Wicahpi Girls School

Porcupine School

Rockyford School

Lakota Waldorf School

Little Wound School

Crazy Horse School

He Dog School

Spring Creek School

Boys & Girls Clubs of Mission, Parmelee, and Rosebud

Oglala Lakota College

Singing Horse Trading Post

Running Strong for American Indian Youth

Idyllwild Arts Academy

Kerry Steever & Placerville Camp

The Guibord Center

And all of the partners we work with daily to make arts education and opportunities available to the awesome young people we work with...

Wopila!

2022 has been so busy we have barely had time to post! But we are always happy to take a pause to reflect on all of the great things happening at Mitakuye!

As 2022 started – many schools were still in hybrid mode with students working both in class and at home. Our School Arts Program was a big hit as it allowed kids to work both in the classroom and remotely! Our School Arts Program provides arts curriculum, instruction through over 50 filmed art lessons, and art supplies to kids across Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and neighboring towns and reservations. We delivered over 1800 art kits for the 2021-2022 school year.

With schools back in person we were able to bring our Art Contests and Creators Club back in full swing:

Our summer programs started off with the 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Run. 2022 was our 10 year anniversary of supporting the Run and over 160 kids participated: 

Special prayers were made for all of the MMIW. Randi Raeni-Shawaway applies paint and says a blessing for each runner:

 We even made time for an impromptu art class with the runners at Devils Tower:

On the last day our friend and long time supporter, Lo Sprague, was honored with a star quilt to recognize all of the support she has given to Mitakuye and the Run over the years:

Our summer art programs served hundreds of kids through our Mitakuye Art Days and Residencies in schools and communities across Pine Ridge and Rosebud including a special dance residency at Lakota Tech High School:

We also had the opportunity to support some young dancers by sponsoring a Youth Dance Special at the White River Wacipi with the help of our friend and expert judge Randi Raeni-Shawaway:

We expanded our Black Hills Arts Academy this year to experiment with offering shorter programs for younger kids in addition to our full time program which included kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mission and Rosebud plus a special residency for the dance team at Lakota Tech High School.

We started off the week with setting up the tipi then got busy making art:

You can check out the film the students made here: https://vimeo.com/785475392

Our special sweetgrass project made with sweetgrass provided by our friend Vanne Mocilac!

Morning Circles, Daily Smudge, and of course, lots of time for fun and s’mores!

Our 2022-2023 School Arts Program is in full swing! Our junior staff helped out to prepare and deliver 2,000 art kits for students across Pine Ridge and Rosebud! Thank you Cisco, Elliana, Rita, Ramsey, Steph – aka Gramma Pepper – Dante & Shayne for making it happen!

We finished the year supporting 2 important community events – a Winter Toy drive in memory of our dear friend Eileen Janis & the Thunder Lake New Years Eve lock-down to give kids a safe and fun event to ring in the new year!

Wopila to everyone who supports these awesome young people and helps to give them opportunities to experience the healing power of art! If you want to help create more opportunities for these kids in 2023 you can donate here: https://mitakuyefoundation.com/donate/