Dignity Unveiled
Sep 19, 2016
South Dakotans saluted and welcomed Dale Lamphere’s Dignity sculpture on a Missouri River bluff above Chamberlain on Saturday. Photos by Bernie Hunhoff.
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The city’s local VFW posted the colors to begin the program, which featured preachers, politicians, artists and Native American singers and dancers. -
Front and center were Gov. Dennis and Linda Daugaard, seated by Eunabel and Norm McKie, the well-known automobile dealers in Rapid City whose philanthropy made the project possible. The McKie family funded the sculpture as a 125th birthday gift to the state of South Dakota. -
An immense crowd enjoyed the ceremonies on a warm September day above the river. -
South Dakota’s noonday sun only added to the splendor of the unveiling. -
The sculpture, titled Dignity of Earth and Sky, stands 50 feet tall and is made mostly of stainless steel. LED lighting provides a special effect after dark. It is very visible from nearby Interstate 90, looming above one of the most picturesque valleys on the entire 3,000-mile long highway. -
It was a poignant and picturesque moment when members of the Lakota Women Warriors stood before Dignity. The group of veterans from the Cheyenne, Pine Ridge and Standing Rock reservations, was recently formed not only as a military color guard but also as a united way to serve the people of their tribes. -
Stan Adelstein of Rapid City is best known around the state as a philanthropist, business leader and former state senator. He also serves as a leader of the Jewish community, and in that capacity he played notes on the shofar, a sacred horn made from a ram’s horn. -
State Sen. Troy Heinert of Mission, who has both Native and non-Native roots in South Dakota, spoke of the state’s sometimes-troubled history of race relations and voiced a hope that Lamphere's Dignity might bring people together — as it did on Saturday. -
Dignity is the figure of a confident Native woman wrapped in a star quilt. -
Youth from the Wambli Ska Dance and Drum Society added color, festivity and meaning to the ceremony. They were joined by the Blue Bird Drum Group and the Dakota Boyz Teca Youth Drum Group. -
The sculpture dwarfs a few cedar trees that grow nearby. It stands so tall that it seems the artist Lamphere uses the sky as a complement to his aluminum creation. -
Lamphere spoke briefly — thanking the McKie family and his fellow workers, who were still tending to last minute details on the sculpture in the hours before the program. He joked that transporting the piece from Scenic to Chamberlain pushed oncoming traffic into the ditch for 12 hours on Highway 44. -
The crowd at the ceremony was a festive show of South Dakota’s diversity. -
Belinda Joe’s song and words enchanted the crowd. She is a teacher and storyteller from the Crow Creek Reservation. -
During the speech-making, two boys from the Wambli Ska Dance and Drum Society practiced their dance steps on the hillside. -
Ed Iron Cloud, a former state lawmaker and Native American activist and leader, erected tipis at the site of the ceremony. Kris O’Rourke provided star quilts for the Daugaards, the McKies and others. -
Gov. Daugaard noted that Dignity joins the stone sculptures in the Black Hills as a new symbol of unity for all South Dakotans.
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Comments
I am of The Great Lakota Sioux Tribe.This is a Honor.Thank you for recognizing the awesome strength of a Native American Woman. Thanks.
many thanks and I hope one day to visit SD
with love peace and respect from North England
This is a great tribute to the Lakota Nation.