Elders begin work to reshape Mount Rushmore interpretive programs

The great-great-granddaughter of the Lakota chief Red Cloud spoke from personal experience Thursday of the need for improved Native American interpretive programs at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Lula Red Cloud, who works on education projects at Crazy Horse Memorial, said she has corrected misconceptions about Lakota spiritual life that some tourists said they picked up at Mount Rushmore. That is an example of why the elders' summit organized by Mount Rushmore Superintendent Gerard Baker is such a good idea, Red Cloud said.

"We have to try to give accuracy and correct information about the Lakota people," she said.

Baker said that is exactly the point of the summit, which will continue today at the memorial. Baker hopes to host the summits twice a year at Mount Rushmore. A Hidatsa-Mandan himself, Baker has already pushed for more and better Native American interpretive programs and displays at the memorial. But he wants to improve that effort with the help of Native elders from throughout South Dakota.

"My primary goal is to hear from you, to hear from the elders," Baker said during a morning get-acquainted session.

But it wasn't just Baker who listened Thursday. It was also his staff, from interpretive specialist to park rangers. He also invited other park managers, including his brother, Paige, the superintendent at Badlands National Park, and Dorothy FireCloud, a Rosebud Sioux Tribe member who now serves as superintendent at Devils Tower National Monument.

Gerard Baker said he hopes that his outreach to tribal elders will get more Native Americans involved in National Park Service educational programs at Mount Rushmore and beyond. He also hopes it will encourage more young Native Americans to work in national parks and monuments and eventually choose to make their careers there.

"We're the ones, I believe, that should be running these natural areas," he said. "I really believe that."

Elders and other Native people at the summit praised Baker for his outreach to them and his commitment to telling more accurate and comprehensive stories about Native American people. That work is essential as Native elders and educators try to instruct and encourage young people to return to more traditional Native American values and lifestyles, Rosebud teacher Sam High Crane said.

"We need to bring back our Lakota way, and our Lakota life, and give the identity we are losing today," he said. "We need to help our youth understand and be proud of who they are."

Non-Natives at the summit included Custer County Sheriff Rick Wheeler, who said he was there to learn more about the Lakota culture, and Qusi Al-Haj of Rapid City, who represented Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

"Meetings like this are priceless, especially for those of us who may think we understand but don't really have the opportunity to walk in your shoes," Al-Haj said.

Eugenio White Hawk, an Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge Reservation, worked on cultural interpretation at Mount Rushmore last summer. He saw firsthand how important the communication is with visiting tourists from throughout the world.

"A lot of people don't understand our issues, our culture and so forth," he said.

White Hawk said the hours he spent explaining those things to visitors was his chance to "talk to the world."

Mount Rushmore attracts 2.8 million to 2.9 million visitors a year, and many are from foreign lands. So interpretive specialists do indeed speak to the world, Baker said. With the help of Native experts, they'll soon be telling better stories, he said.

"We need to keep this dialogue going," Baker said.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com