Transformation and Continuity in Lakota Culture: The Collages of Arthur Amiotte

An introduction to Standing Bear and his world brought to life through the collages of 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 Lakota artist whose family uniquely blended Native and European ways of life. Drawing inspiration from Standing Bear's legacy, Amiotte uses ephemera, historical and modern photographs and artworks, and the remembered stories of his relatives to compose collages that tell the story of a culture and people in transition. The vivid juxtaposition of materials allows viewers to experience the nuances and fluctuations in the Lakota people's environment, values, and way of life. Louis S. Warren relates the life of Standing Bear in a brief biography, and Janet Catherine Berlo contributes an essay placing Amiotte's collages in their artistic and anthropological contexts.