PIERRE, S.D. – During an event at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre on Monday, Oct. 12, celebrating both Native American Day and the return of the Great Sioux Horse Effigy, Gov. Dennis Daugaard released a proclamation making that day Great Sioux Horse Effigy Day across South Dakota.
The proclamation honors the return of the iconic effigy from its international touring exhibition “The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth & Sky” back to its home in South Dakota. Monday’s special event at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre includes an open house from 1-4 p.m. CDT, and a special ceremony beginning at 2 p.m. with Lt. Gov. Matt Michels serving as the emcee. Speakers during the ceremony include: Secretary Steve Emery, South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations; Kevin Gover, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.; Gaylord Torrence, the Fred & Virginia Merrill senior curator of American Indian Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City; and Francis Whitebird, board of trustees, South Dakota State Historical Society.
Spiritual Leader Roy Stone of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe lead a cleansing ceremony and prayer following the guest speaker comments.
“We thank Gov. Daugaard for his proclamation honoring the Great Sioux Hose Effigy,” said Jay D. Vogt, director of the State Historical Society. All of the events, with the exception of the Sunday night banquet which requires advance ticket purchase, are free and open to the public.
The Great Sioux Horse Effigy went back on display at the Cultural Heritage Center on Saturday, Oct. 10, in a new display which features horse memorials borrowed from the State Historical Society of North Dakota and the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). The loan from NMAI marks the first object borrowed from the Smithsonian Institution since the State Historical Society became a Smithsonian Affiliate in January 2013.
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