The Dacotah Prairie Museum had many

interesting Native American themed exhibits, but

the one that was the most eye catching to me was

the room full of paintings by Sandy Swallow. She

was born on the Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux

Reservation and is a self-taught artist that who

creates art that captures dramatic pieces to express

traditional Native American symbols and images from the natural world. Her life history is what

sparks her artistic visions and people feel these experiences through her work.

The painting that caught my eye the most was,

“Standing Strong”. The painted image is of a lone

buffalo standing on an empty piece of land. She

painted it with beautiful watercolors, to make the

picture feel and look more realistic. This piece has the

perfect title because I feel like it displays the Native

Americans lifestyle extremely well. It shows that no matter the hardships they went through, they

are still “standing strong” while they continue to share their beliefs and culture to the world. The

“Standing Strong” painting was used for the cover for the South Dakota Humanities catalog in

2012, which was one of Sandy’s biggest accomplishments.

Information and Photo Sources:
Dacotah Prairie Museum, Aberdeen SD (visited on September 12, 2019)
The Artist – Sandy Swallow (2019). Retrieved September 16, 2019, from
http://www.sandyswallowgallery.com/sandy-swallow-the-artist/