I have been asked to return to Badlands National
Park as Artist-in-Residence this fall, November 1-21st. In addition to painting and exploring
more areas of the park, I will spend one week teaching
landscape painting to 59 students at Red Cloud High School on Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation. This endeavor is intended to lay the
groundwork for long term partnership opportunities with the school,
reach out to local Lakota youth, and instill stewardship ethic and
appreciation of BNP resources. A large portion of the park is
located on the reservation and is co-managed by the Oglala Lakota
Tribe and the National Park Service. Future plans for this land
include creating the first Tribal National Park. Badlands will be
reaching out to Lakota youth to fill summer internship positions to
begin to build the groundwork for a successful Tribal National Park.
I will again record my experiences here, and I urge you to read more about the school and reservation I have the privilege to visit.