Sculpture of Buffalo Hunt

Today we went to Kevin Costner’s interpretive center near Deadwood, called Tatanka.  Tatanka is Lakota for Bison.  This site has a intriguing meld of the history of the bison, and homage to the Native American way of life.  In an introductory film of Costner’s dedication speech, he summed it up for me: the history of the Black Hills is one that began long before Hickok.  It is a story of wonder and regret.

The sculpture pictured here is done at 25% larger than life size, and shows three mounted riders, driving a herd of Bison over a cliff, such as that which we visited the first day, at the Vore Buffalo Jump.  We learned through an interpretive talk that the proper name for the beast is Bison, not the commonly used Buffalo.  Either is acceptable, but if you want to be correct, it is Bison!

Interpreter at Tatanka

The experience was enhanced by an interpreter, who was very knowledgeable in the history of her people, and in the history of the bison.  We learned about many misconceptions, and it was clarified as to different tribes of the Sioux tribe, and that the name Sioux was a misunderstanding as to what the tribal name really was.  Once given a name, it stuck.  I’m imagining many a “Shorty” out there can attest!

The day was beautiful.  We were able to see inside the tipi pictured.  It was from the set of “Dances with Wolves”, Kevin Costner’s movie which helped to educate the world as to the Native American way of life, and to realize what was lost.  At the center were some of the costumes from the movie, all very well constructed and authentic.

The magnitude of the slaughter of the bison is evidenced in the photo below.  That man is standing on a stack of bison bones!  What was once so plentiful and life-giving, was reduced to a pile of bones, ground into pulp.  There are resources today which mankind is treating with equal disregard, sadly.

Stack of Bison Bones

We had a quick visit to Ken and Erin Halsey’s Geodesic Dome house and rides in his antique automobile, adding a totally different twist to the day.

The Meet and Greet

Creative discussion

Finally, we enjoyed the chance to meet local artists and persons interested in the arts, at the Spearfish Arts Center, at Matthews Opera House.  Funds for the event were provided by the South Dakota Arts Council, giving all the chance to have a nice meal together.

Enjoying a meal

Getting Interviewed

Having guests as our catalyst, we had an informal gathering in which locals were able to meet not only the visitors, but one another as well!  Thank you all who were able to attend:  I believe all benefited from the experience of being around the creative energy that inevitably results from interesting people gathering!