The Densmore Repatriation Project

The Densmore Repatriation Project is named for ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore of Red Wing, Minnesota, who made her first visit to the Standing Rock Reservation in 1911. She recorded traditional songs on a hand-cranked, wax cylinder recorder and spoke with dozens of tribal elders. The songs she recorded, many over 100 years old, had been passed down for generations. Densmore documented this work in her book Teton Sioux Music, which contained additional stories and insights into Lakota/Dakota life and became a touchstone for learning about the culture. This work of Densmore’s has been in storage for over 100 years. The purpose of the Densmore Repatriation Project is to re-introduce these songs and stories and make them easily accessible for a new generation of Native singers and educators. In 1927 Densmore wrote, "Research work is only worthwhile when its results are transmitted to others." That's the purpose of this project: to transmit what she called research work to others, particularly the people who it belongs to. Hear more than 70 songs from the collection re-recorded in 2022: https://www.lakotasongs.com/songs Watch 30 videos providing context and history for individual Lakota songs: https://www.lakotasongs.com/videos Watch videos explaining more about the project: https://www.lakotasongs.com/about Read eight guides for further study: https://www.lakotasongs.com/studyguide Download an updated e-book version of Teton Sioux Music: https://www.lakotasongs.com/book Singers: John Eagle Shield, Jr. Jerren Elk Spencer Little Owl Kendall Little Owl Khannie Tobacco Kelcie Two Shields Cody Wasinzi Courtney Yellowfat Informants: Virgil Taken Alive Courtney Yellowfat John Thomas Eagle Shield, Sr. Mary Louise Defender Wilson Tim Mentz, Sr. Kevin Locke Cedric Goodhouse Evelyn “Sissy” Goodhouse Thomas Red Bird Michael B. Moore Dana Yellowfat D.J. Two Bears Terry Yellowfat Students: MacKenzie Sheridan Donovan Day Artwork: Ledger art by Tesla Belcourt Staff: David Swenson (Producer) Courtney Yellowfat (Co-producer, primary cultural advisor) Michael Glatt (Management) Dennis Neumann (Information officer, official photographer) Funders: Bush Foundation - Ramala Bile ND Council on the Arts - Troyd Giest Humanities North Dakota - Brenna Gerhardt Dakota Legacy - Jim Christianson The Densmore/Lakota Song Repatriation Project is supported by a generous Community Innovation grant from the Bush Foundation. It is made possible also by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal American Rescue Plan Act, in partnership with Humanities North Dakota. Further support is provided by the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, and Dakota Legacy. The Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project is intended for educational purposes only. All of the media materials of this project, whether video, audio, written text, photographs or illustrations, are intended for free distribution and educational use. However, the content of the traditional knowledge and cultural teachings and understandings conveyed in the project remain the intellectual and cultural property of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Any use or re-use of these materials outside the educational purposes of the Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project requires prior consent of the tribe.