This spring, the Oyate Ta Kola Ku (OTKK) Community Center on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation will offer various classes to help celebrate and nurture a love and knowledge of Lakota culture and traditions. Middle and high school students are taking classes to learn native crafts. High school students are doing so to share their Lakota heritage on graduation day by wearing ribbon skirts, concho belts, breast plates, and even beaded graduation caps.
The youth of Pine Ridge are so proud of their culture, and the Center helps to keep these important traditions alive.
Breastplates
In March, classes started for a mini breastplate class for middle and high school youth.
Native American breastplates, often made with bone hair pipes and beads, were initially used for protection in battle and hunting.
After the introduction of firearms, the practical use of breastplates diminished, and they evolved into symbols of status, wealth, and personal strength.
Breastplates were crafted from materials like buffalo bone, hair pipes, leather, and beads, with intricate designs and embellishments that reflected the wearer’s status and tribal identity.
Elaborate beading, colored decorations, and specific symbols (like arrows representing protection and defense) added to the symbolic meaning of breastplates.
Today, Native American breastplates are often worn for ceremonial occasions, powwows, and as part of regalia.
On Pine Ridge, they are worn proudly by youth and adults alike.
Ribbon Skirt Making
Ribbon skirts are a symbol of resilience, sacredness, and survival. They are not limited to one specific tribe but are influenced by the Plains Tribes, particularly the Oglala Lakota on Pine Ridge. Historically, the Lakota wore skirts made from animal hide and adorned with natural paint. With the introduction of trade goods from Europe, these skirts began to be made of cotton calico and ribbons, continuing the traditions and meanings associated with the original skin skirts.
The skirt’s silhouette is sacred, reflecting the shape of the Tipi. As the woman walked, the bottom of her skirt touched the Earth’s medicines. “Mother Earth would always know who it was that was making their presence felt on her back,” and the prayers were answered.
Ribbon skirts are about women’s empowerment and remind them of their sacredness. These skirts have become a universal symbol of resistance, land and water protection, and a symbol of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Wearing a ribbon skirt, regardless of tribal affiliation, is an honor.
To see a group of young women proudly standing on graduation day with their ribbons skirts is an honor.
Graduation Caps
The center will hold a graduation cap beading class in April for graduating high school seniors, with all supplies provided. The only thing the seniors need to bring is their graduation caps to decorate!
Star Quilt Making
Star quilts are beautiful, and for many, star quilts are sacred.
For the Lakota (Sioux) people, the star quilt — wičháȟpi owíŋža — represents honor and generosity.
According to She Native, the morning star, the last and brightest star on the eastern horizon before dawn, inspires the pattern of the star quilt. It is believed that the Morning Star represents how the spirits come to Earth and connect the living with those who have passed.
The pattern is made of small diamonds pieced together in eight sections, which combine to create the eight-point star. Historically, star patterns were created with plant dyes and adorned with buffalo hides and tipis. Still, when missionaries arrived in the mid-to-late 1800s, they introduced fabrics and sewing to Native American women, and the star quilt was born.
The star quilt’s tradition of honor grew as the quilts were draped around the shoulders of Lakota warriors and hunters when they returned from battle, a successful hunt, or the start of Haŋblečeya—Vision Quests.
It was also presented at funerals to honor loved ones on their final journey.
Today, star quilts are among the most valued gifts of the Lakota (Sioux) people, including high school graduates. They are still draped over the recipients’ shoulders to symbolize protection on their journey through life.
Concho Belt Making
Concho belts are a symbol of Native art and tradition. The word concho comes from the Spanish word meaning shell. Some of the first conchos were made of melted silver dollars and resembled a shell, which is commonly thought to be how the name came about.
While conchos are most closely associated with the Navajo people, they were first made by eastern tribes, such as the Delaware and Shawnee, whose craftsmen learned their trade from European artisans.
Following their resettlement in Oklahoma in the 1830s, they passed the art form on to Plains tribes, including the Comanche, Kiowa, and Ute, who introduced it to the Navajo of the Southwest.
Today, concho belts are worn by both women and men.
In April, the Oyate Ta Kola Ku Community Center will host a series of concho belt classes for children and youth old enough to make their own belts using the necessary tools—including awls, hammers, leather strip cutters, riveters, hole punches, and more.
For younger children, parents/guardians only needed to bring in the child’s waist measurements, and the belts were made for them.
At Oyate Ta Kola Ku Community Center, Lakota traditions live on.
