Breathing New Life Into a Rare Exhibit Piece
In July 2024, a partnership between the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian resulted in a historic instrument returning to Dakota homelands for the first time in a century. A wooden flute, believed to have been made in the late 1800s, is on display in the Mdewakanton: Dwellers of the Spirit Lake public exhibit.
Before it went on display, however, Hoċokata Ṫi staff had the rare opportunity to interact with the object, working with a Dakota flute player to produce sound from piece for the first time in generations.
