The Singers

John Eagle Shield, Jr.

Jerren Elk

Spencer Little Owl

Kendall Little Owl

Khannie Tobacco

Kelcie Two Shields

Cody Wasinzi

Courtney Yellowfat

Informants

Virgil Taken Alive

Courtney Yellowfat

John Thomas Eagle Shield, Sr.

Mary Louise Defender Wilson

Tim Mentz, Sr.

Kevin Locke

Cedric Goodhouse

Evelyn “Sissy” Goodhouse

Thomas Red Bird

Michael B. Moore

Dana Yellowfat

D.J. Two Bears

Terry Yellowfat

Students

MacKenzie Sheridan

Donovan Day

Artwork

Ledger art by Tesla Belcourt

Staff

David Swenson (Producer)

Courtney Yellowfat (Co-producer, primary cultural advisor)

Michael Glatt (Management)

Dennis Neumann (Information officer, official photographer)

Funders

Bush Foundation - Ramala Bile

ND Council on the Arts - Troyd Giest

Humanities North Dakota - Brenna Gerhardt

Dakota Legacy - Jim Christianson

Next: the Song of the White Buffalo Calf Maiden

Red Weasel’s Prayer

Before singing, Red Weasel bowed his head in prayer, “Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka, hear me. This day I am to tell your word. But without sin I shall speak. The tribe shall Live. Behold me for I am humble. From above watch me. You are always the truth, listen to me, my friends and relatives, sitting here, and I shall be at peace. May our voices be heard at the future goal you have prepared for us.”

From Teton Sioux Music & Culture by Frances Densmore

The Densmore Repatriation Project

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.

The project has been made possible by generous grants and support from:

The Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project is intended for educational purposes only. All of the media materials of this project, whether video, audio, written text, photographs or illustrations, are intended for free distribution and educational use. 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.

Any use or re-use of these materials outside the educational purposes of the Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project requires prior consent of the tribe.

The Densmore Repatriation Project

Songs ∙ Videos ∙ Book ∙ Study Guide ∙ About ∙ News

Download the Densmore Unit Lesson Plan.

Hear more than 70 songs from the collection re-recorded in 2022.

Watch 30 videos providing context and history for individual Lakota songs.

Watch videos explaining more about the project.

Read eight guides for further study.

Download an updated e-book version of Teton Sioux Music.

YouTube ∙ Bandcamp ∙ Soundcloud