News

The first stop on our Summer Arts Immersion programs was Crazy Horse, a K-12 school in Wanblee. Students in Kindergarten through High School did work in visual art, film, music  and music production, photography, and dance. We finished up recording a song students wrote last spring and began shooting footage for a music video students are creating to the song. We will be back in September to finish up production on the song and music video. Here is a draft of the song so far:

Film Class with Laffrey and Ellen

Piano Lesson with Paul

Learning the Camera

Practicing Camera Skills

Art Class

A Good Day’s Work!

Getting ready to shoot the music video!

Practicing for the music video

Students participating in the music video

A young actress performs her part in the music video

The 36th Annual 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Run!

The Mitakuye Foundation has been honored to support The 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Run for the last 7 years!

The kids run in prayer for 5 days in a 500 mile relay to sacred sites around the Black Hills. It is a powerful and important event that brings children, families, and communities together from across the reservation.

Thank You to everyone who has supported the runners! This year we were able to provide several thousand dollars of support, including the annual commemorative t-shirts. A special shout-out to Josh Fox who featured the runners in his film, Awake, and to Jeri Baker and ONE SPIRIT who helped provide food, gas, and supplies!  We have been documenting the Run since 2012 and will be featuring it in our upcoming film, The Heart of Everything That Is. 

Prayer Circle at Devil’s Tower

Prayers

Tug of war at Devils Tower.

Running for Raelee

The final approach at Bear Butte

All of us here at The Mitakuye Foundation would like to say WOPILA TANKA (THANK YOU VERY MUCH!) to the many donors and sponsors who have supported and contributed to our 2018 Summer Arts Programs so far!

It is a beautiful thing to see how many people want to create life-affirming opportunities for the young people of Pine Ridge! And it is all the more meaningful that so many people – who may not have much themselves – feel so moved to show care and concern for the youth. And we want to publicly thank you all here:

It has been an incredible few weeks of summer programs on Pine Ridge! In the upcoming days we will be sharing posts on the 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Prayer Run and our Hoye Wayelo Arts Immersion Programs in Wanblee, Pine Ridge, and the Black Hills. Stay tuned for lots of pictures, lots of art, news about our end of summer programming, and a very special thank you for all of the amazing people who helped to make all of this happen! Here are a few highlights to start:

Arts Residency at Crazy Horse

The Art Room, Black Hills Intensive

Summer Arts in Pine Ridge

Young Artist at Crazy Horse

Black Hills

Art Walk Pine Ridge

Hide Tanning, Black Hills Intensive

Filmmaking in the Black Hills

500 Mile Sacred Hoop Run

Awake: A Dream From Standing Rock

We are excited to announce that Josh Fox, the Emmy-award winning director of Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock and Gasland, is joining with us in support of the Mitakuye Foundation and the 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Run!

In 2016 the Mitakuye Foundation sponsored a prayer run, led by spiritual leader Ricky Gray Grass, that brought kids from Pine Ridge to Standing Rock to stand in solidarity with the water protectors. The kids were honored with a horse and police escort into the camp, were greeted by the whole camp with a powerful drum circle and ceremony, and had a special meeting with the tribal president. (See blogpost here)

We filmed the prayer run as part of our upcoming feature Running On A Wing and a Prayer (watch a sneak peak of Running On A Wing And A Prayer here) and released a short video of the Standing Rock Run on You Tube (See the film: “Prayer Run to Standing Rock”).

Sacred Hoop Runners

Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock shares some of the footage of the Sacred Hoop Runners on their journey. This beautiful film tells the story of the #NODAPL movement and the water protectors at Standing Rock Reservation in the summer and fall of 2016. We are excited that our kids got to be a part of this important film!

We are very happy to have Josh and his team as partners! We appreciate his support of the 500 Mile Sacred Hoop Run and all of the programming we do at Mitakuye to empower and uplift Native youth. We look forward to expanding the ways we support each other in our mutual goals of empowering the youth and bringing attention to the ongoing political, environmental, and economic abuses that continue to take place in the Lakota homelands!

Awake: A Dream From Standing Rock

HOLY MAN: THE USA vs DOUGLAS WHITE

We had a beautiful week of teaching, visiting schools and handing out awards to our Art Contest Winners!

Young Dancers at Crazy Horse

Young Dancers at Crazy Horse

Music Production with Paul

Music Production with Paul

Final wrap up with the young artists at Crazy Horse

We handed out awards to our Art Contest Winners at schools across the reservation!

Award Winners at OLL

Award Winners at OLL

Students at OLL cheering on their class mates

Winners at Anpo Wicahpi

Award Winner Destiny Big Crow

Award Winner Maisena Kelley at Anpo WIcahpi

Anpo Wicahpi student Breianna High Wolf has won several awards for her art

Award Winners at Rockyford School

Rockyford Artist Apollo Richards

Rockyford Artist Amalia Swallow

 

Two time first place winner Briley Ferguson

Our youngest winner Braxton Whalen

Rockyford Artist Dustin LeBeaux

Rockyford Artist Cody Mousseaux

Pine Ridge Elementary students cheer on their classmates

Three time winner Aurora Marshall

Award Winner Natalia Two Two

Pine Ridge Winners!

Red Cloud Winners

Wolf Creek Artist Emilee Hill

Wolf Creek Artist Leilani McGlaughlin

Wolf Creek Award Winners!

Little Wound Award Winners

Little Wound High School Award Winner Elizabeth Iron Horn

Batesland Elementary Award Winner Tate High Hawk

Batesland Elementary Award Winner Nathan Whalen

Batesland Award Winner Marcus Black Calf

Oelrichs School Grand Prize Winner Baylie Her Many Horses

Baylie discussing her art

Baylie’s work

Baylie’s work

Baylie’s work

HOYE WAYELO SUMMER ARTS INTENSIVE 

JULY 1 – 6, 2018

APPLICATIONS DUE JUNE 5th

The 2018 program will be held at Camp Placerville in the Black Hills from July 1-6. All students who are selected will receive full tuition scholarships, room and board and transportation to and from the Black Hills. There will be local drop off points in each district.

We had a record number of submissions for our Winter 2018 Art Contest IMAGINATION!

Congratulations to everyone who submitted!

Grand Prize: Dorian Sage Baldes, Age 16

Grand Prize: Baylie Her Many Horses, Age 15

Detail of Baylie Her Many Horses winning submission

First Place: Chance Pullman Age 18

First Place: Wicahpi Chaddelsone-Yankton, Age 16

First Place: Taiyah Pourier, Age 12

First Place: Emilee Swalley, Age 13

First Place: Elliana Lashae Reed, Age 9

First Place: Olivia Standing Bear, Age 12

First Place: Elizabeth “Bizzy” Iron Horn, Age 14

Honorable Mention: Malea I’atala Age 17

Honorable Mention: Maiden White Plume Kelly, Age 12

Honorable Mention: Aurora Marshall, Age 12

Honorable Mention: Brianna Lone Elk, Age 9

Honorable Mention: Emilee Hill, Age 12

Honorable Mention: Kinsey Hill, Age 11

Honorable Mention: Lanie McGee, Age 12

Honorable Mention: Tate High Hawk, Age 12

Honorable Mention: Abigail Booth, Age 15

Honorable Mention: Anthony Rossy Long, Age 14

Honorable Mention: Emily Stover, Age 10

Honorable Mention: Alyssa Stover, Age 12

Honorable Mention: Amalia Swallow, Age 10

Merit Award: Amanda Red Owl, Age 18

Merit Award: Breiana High Wolf, Age 13

Merit Award: Destiny Big Crow, Age 12

Merit Award: Angelina Brave Age 13

Merit Award: Laeshawna Catches, Age 13

Merit Award: Natallia Two Two, Age 11

Merit Award: Ohitika Lewis, Age 17

Merit Award: Shia Sierra, Age 11

Merit Award: Brandon Traverse, Age 13

Merit Award: Sharaon Chief Eagle, Age 12

Merit Award: Felipa De Leon, Age 9

Merit Award: Tia Sitting Bear, Age 11

Merit Award: Maraes May, Age 9

Merit Award: Gerry Runnels, Age 10

Merit Award: Dante Witt, Age 17

Merit Award: Annette Red Owl Age 11

Merit Award: Apollo Richards, Age 9

Merit Award: Kylie Big Crow. Age 12

Braxton Whalen, Age 5

Merit Award: Stephanie Brewer, Age 11

Merit Award: Lloyd Yankton, Age 1

Merit Award: William Clifford Age 13 Poem and performance piece

William Clifford Age 13 Rockyford

The theme for the Spring Art Contest is FREEDOM!

Deadline for submissions is May 5th.