Unveiling set for project that revives Native songs
Standing Rock singers re-recorded century-old Lakota songs at Makoche’ Studios in Bismarck, from left, John Eagle Shield, Jr., Kendall Little Owl, Courtney Yellowfat (project co-producer) and Spencer Little Owl. (Densmore Project photo/Dennis J. Neumann)
Century-old recordings made at Standing Rock are cultural teaching tools
Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project, FOR RELEASE August 22, 2022
BISMARCK – A new means of teaching about Native culture using songs will be presented during events of powwow week in early September. United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) will host demonstrations of digital technology employed in the Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project.
The project will be introduced and described by co-producer Courtney Yellowfat (Standing Rock) on Tuesday, September 6 at 3:15 p.m. during a workshop session of the United Tribes Tribal Leader’s Summit in the Prairie Rose Room of the Bismarck Event Center. Co-producer David Swenson, of Makoche’ Studios in Bismarck, will join Yellowfat in demonstrating the technology and describing the project’s potential for teaching and learning. Project materials will be provided on thumb-drives free of charge to those attending.
Yellowfat and Swenson will also make a presentation during the United Tribes Technical College International Powwow in Bismarck. The college will host a public open house for the project Saturday, September 10 from 4-to-6 p.m. in Building 7, north of the powwow dance arena. The presenters will remain on site into the evening for further information and to provide project materials on thumb-drives free of charge to anyone interested.
Recordings Revitalized
The Densmore Project is named for ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore of Red Wing, Minnesota, who visited Standing Rock from 1911 to 1914 and recorded traditional songs on a hand-cranked, wax cylinder recorder. The selections had been passed down for generations and some were already more than 100-years-old. Densmore documented the work in her book “Teton Sioux Music,” which contained additional stories and insights into Lakota/Dakota life and became a touchstone for learning about the culture.
The Densmore project re-introduces the songs and uses technology to make them more accessible for a new generation of Native singers and educators. Yellowfat has involved traditional singers to record the songs anew and indigenous knowledge-keepers to interpret the culture of the time. Swenson has made the recordings easily accessible on multiple media platforms: touch-screens for in-person access, website for online connection, and thumb-drives for convenient personal use.
The materials include:
Information about Frances Densmore and her work at Standing Rock
An updated e-book version of her book “Teton Sioux Music”
Restored and cataloged copies of Densmore’s original wax cylinder recordings
Seventy-five songs from the collection re-recorded in 2022
Thirty videos explaining the meanings and significance of the songs
Eight writings for further study
And these additional videos: the importance of the White Buffalo Calf Maiden, an overview of the project, and the singers who participated
For Educational Use
The Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project was created for educational purposes. All of the media materials are contained on a thumb-drive and are intended for free distribution. However, the content of the traditional knowledge and cultural teachings and understandings conveyed in the project remain the intellectual and cultural property of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Project Support
The project is seen as a blueprint for repatriation projects in Native communities. Support was provided by the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) with a $208,000 grant from the Bush Foundation, and Dakota Legacy with a $50,000 grant from Humanities North Dakota. Standing Rock Community Schools, Sitting Bull College and United Tribes Technical College are partners.
The Densmore/Lakota Song Repatriation Project is supported by a generous Community Innovation grant from the Bush Foundation. It is made possible also by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal American Rescue Plan Act, in partnership with Humanities North Dakota. Further support is provided by the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, and Dakota Legacy.