The Mobridge Murals
The Mobridge murals were initially made possible through the infamous New Deal Era's WPA (Works Progress
Administration) program. This program was designed as a work-relief stimulus initiative to stoke the American economy during the Great Depression of the 1930’s.
Rather than straight doling out funds and awaiting a new
economic day, the new deal proposed that the government actively invest in its people by creating jobs in many different sectors, including the arts!
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| WPA Poster artist: unkown |
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| WPA Poster artist: unknown |
Although time would eventually reveal Oscar Howe as the designer and painter of the Mobridge murals he was not the WPA's initial pick for the gig!
Bill Lackey of Faith, South Dakota was first awarded the job but could not complete the task. Soon after, the opportunity came to Oscar Howe and he took it. The preliminary drawings made by Howe for each of the murals can be viewed here. Joining Howe in the endeavor would be three assistants: Miss Ruth Swan of Rapid City, SD, Paul Kean of Mitchell, SD and Paul Mountain of White River, SD. Working along side Howe and his assistants were the Saul brothers; John and Tom Saul of Forth Thompson, SD. The brothers were well regarded for their geometric design work and created a number of complex and aesthetically appealing designs to compliment Howe's Mobridge murals.
North wall murals
"HISTORY ALONG THE MISSOURI"
Audio Mural Tour by Kevin Locke
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| Sakakawea, far left panel, north wall. 16'x16' |
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| Treaty Making, 2nd panel from left, north wall. 16'x16' |
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| Christian Services, middle panel, north wall 16'x16' |
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| Fool Soldier Rescue, 2nd from right, north wall 16'x16' |
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| Retreat, right side, north wall 10'x16'
These five murals shown above (in their pre-resoration state) line the north wall of the Scherr-Howe auditorium titled "History along the Missouri". There are five additional panels on the south wall that were painted by Howe during the same time titled "Ceremonies of the Sioux" that can be viewed here. The south wall panels are currently being restored by Conservationist Dr. Margaret Nowosielska.
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| Elof Wedin "Return From the Fields" 1938 Mobridge, SD |
Heading two blocks north down Mobridge's Mainstreet, we find the town post office and in it a WPA mural by the Swedish born WPA artist Elof Wedin. Wedin's mural "Return from the Fields" is of a slightly earlier vintage (1938) than Howe's. Upon close inspection we see that Wedin sets his narrative within the same unmistakable landscape as Howe's north wall murals. The cast of players however look quite different. For this mural, Wedin's subject is the immigrant farmer who came to colonize/settle this land. When comparing the works of Wedin and Howe we are offered glimpses into two separate cultural narratives of a shared place.
Looking at Wedin's mural, we are reminded of many other WPA murals we've seen during our travels throughout the mid-west as part of the Mid America Mural Project. In many places the story depicted is of the people who immigrated to this land and the associated events that facilitated their settlement, such as the Land Run, Oregon Trail, Lewis and Clark expedition, railroad, ect.
As artists approaching the restoration of these murals, we are very interested in the historical and contemporary relevance of the stories/histories they illuminate. We are also interested in, as our friend and mentor muralist Dave Loewenstein would put it: "Whose histories are missing?"
*Many of the traditional Lakota ceremonies were outlawed up until the American Indian Religious Freedoms Act of 1978. In Canada laws against the Sundance and other religious practices were nullified twenty-seven years ealier in 1951.
Looking at Wedin's mural, we are reminded of many other WPA murals we've seen during our travels throughout the mid-west as part of the Mid America Mural Project. In many places the story depicted is of the people who immigrated to this land and the associated events that facilitated their settlement, such as the Land Run, Oregon Trail, Lewis and Clark expedition, railroad, ect.
As artists approaching the restoration of these murals, we are very interested in the historical and contemporary relevance of the stories/histories they illuminate. We are also interested in, as our friend and mentor muralist Dave Loewenstein would put it: "Whose histories are missing?"
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| "Sun Dance" south wall panel 1 of 5 from "Ceremonies of the Sioux" borders shown were created by Tom and John Saul, the Saul brothers of Fort Thompson (all of the murals have similar bracketing pillars) 16'x16' 1942 |
Introduction to the murals by Kevin Locke:
Interview: Audio Mural Tour
Interviewer: Christine Goldsmith
Interviewee: Kevin Locke
transcription: Nicholas Ward
"These kinds of things are not expressed. The traditional
practices were actively repressed, as was the language. The Federal edicts* were
still enforced outlawing any outward practice of ceremonies. It is really
remarkable, really heroic that Howe was able to stand out in a public forum and
depict all of these things (religious ceremonies) because all of these
ceremonies were kept underground and people would only practice them in secret.
The overall theme of the general society was that all of this was dead all of
it was destined for extinction; it had no place and was totally irrelevant to
modern society.
To me what Oscar Howe was able to do was to look beyond the
general feeling and to see the universal themes and then highlight these
universal themes. All peoples have a gift to bring into the world; we all have something
valid and valuable to contribute towards an emerging global civilization. When
I look at Howe’s work I can see that he really did have this overarching drive
to bring out all of this cultural heritage. Those people like Howe’s
grandparents and that generation are no longer alive. Even in Howe’s time he
grew up with people born in the pre-reservation days. Those people had strong
prayer and vision and hopes and dreams and Mr. Howe has kept that alive. In the
murals today those prayers are still speaking loudly. Mr. Howe gave voice to it
through his work, through his gift.
There were a lot of broken people back then (when Howe was a
child) lots of kids were taken from their homes and put into boarding schools.
A lot of families, generations were totally disrupted. The ramifications of
that can be seen today.
That was trauma. Before that in the 1800’s there was a lot
of warfare. The policy towards Native Americans was extermination. When Oscar
Howe was born, throughout much of his life virulent racism and Jim Crow laws
were still very much in place. So he lived through that.
Howe is helping us to realize that we really do have
something beautiful and vital to contribute in the world today. We bring with us
strong roots weather we are German, Norwegian or Dakota we bring with us the
good things from our ancestors, our grandparents. We are in a state currently
in the world today where we need to draw from every wellspring of strength that
we can.
In Mobridge we have Germans and Indians. These are the two
most dichotomous populations on the planet. God put us together and said OK
turkeys deal with this. It’s the challenge of trying to reconcile diversity to
pull something together, in order to do that we have to pull from all of our
strengths. Mr. Howe has given us a real strong legacy to enable us to chart a
course towards the future.
So often, young people
think that the only future they have is to go to an urban area. That may be so
but there is a lot of richness here. People have long roots, strong roots, if
they haven’t been covered over too much. Around the Missouri river, every
creek, every hill, every bend in the river, it all has a story. There is a song
for it, a story behind it. Every plant has a use. In the process of modern
society things have become so urbanized. People are always sitting in square
enclosures, square desks, and square ceiling tiles. They are looking at square
screen or looking out of a square window at a square landscape….. We live like
that in our homes but yet the big world is right here, we can see the elements,
experience the seasons. People are outdoorsy people here so we live in that
environment."
- Kevin locke.
*Many of the traditional Lakota ceremonies were outlawed up until the American Indian Religious Freedoms Act of 1978. In Canada laws against the Sundance and other religious practices were nullified twenty-seven years ealier in 1951.
If the task of designing and painting these murals had fallen to Bill Lackey or another WPA muralist, certainly the resulting murals and their subjects would differ from Howe's. What effect would that have on the way the people of this place think about their history today and the stories that are shared? Without this specific contribution of Howe and others like him with voices vested within the stories of the native people of this place, how would this important history and its stories be perpetuated? What role does public art play in the makeup of our sense of identity and awareness as people in a place?
For those interested in learning more about the murals, Christine Goldsmith has created a beautiful blog site hosting an audio tour by renown Lakota historian, flautist, Hoopdancer and friend to Oscar Howe, Kevin Locke. In 2013 Mobridge hosted the play "On the Missouri: November 1862" an adaptation based on the story of the Fool Soldier Rescue. The play was written by Minnesota playwright Louise Bormann and was performed in the Scherr-Howe Arena in 2013. For visitors to Mobrige the Mobridge Chamber of Commcerce offers a guided tour of the murals which we highly suggest.
stay tuned for our next post!
