Session 8: Luncheon Keynote

Arthur Amiotte, Transformation and Continuity in Lakota Culture: The Artwork of Standing Bear and Arthur Amiotte

Through his artwork, Arthur Amiotte offers insight into the early reservation period, a time of great upheaval for the Lakota people.  In words and images, he tells the fascinating story of his great-grandfather, Standing Bear, a performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and also an artist.  Amiotte will discuss how his art and his grandfather’s art reflects the experiences of a family uniquely blended with both Native and European ways of life.

As an educator and founder of the Plains Indian Advisory Board, Arthur Amiotte has taught all aspects of Native traditional and contemporary studio fine arts. As an award-winning scholar, he has numerous publications on Native art/culture and has lectured throughout the United States and Europe. He defines his work as being bound to the reservation culture. In 2002, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West hosted a special exhibition titled The Arthur Amiotte Retrospective: Continuity and Diversity, then the most comprehensive exhibition to date of the work of the internationally noted Lakota artist.