Traditional Artists Talk Shop at Racing Magpie Studios
By Aly Duncan Neely
Native Sun News Correspondent
RAPID CITY –– Rick Gerlach and Ryan Hunter bring Native American history to life with their artistic interpretations of items once used on a daily basis by indigenous people of the Great Plains. Gerlach and Hunter describe their work as replicas, but their unique talents are evident in their creations made from the materials the nature provides.
Hunter, who is of Mohawk heritage and a student at Oglala Lakota College, hails from upstate New York and has been in Rapid City for three years. His beautifully knapped obsidian spear points and arrowheads, which he now manufactures in his shared Racing Magpie studio downtown, are a testament to the years of practice he has spent perfecting his art.
Among the intriguing diorite and obsidian stonework Hunter displays along the rear wall of the studio, are a finely crafted cedar wood atlatl and spear, polished with boiled linseed oil. The atlatl, allowed hunters to gain momentum in their spear throw by adding a fulcrum to the method.
In addition to spear points and hunting gear, Hunter also makes game pieces and what he calls, “doodles.” His doodles consist of stone and wood carvings of animals and other things found in nature, ranging from wearable art and decorations to figurines.
Hunter stated, “Stone is part of the ancient world. If man never worked with stone, none of us would be here. Stone is life.” Picking up a delicately handcrafted buffalo bone spear point, Hunter explained “Rick uses the stone tools I makes for making buffalo horn spoons, the old way.”
Rick Gerlach of the Yankton Sioux Tribe has been working with buffalo hides, bone and horn for the last three years. He related that the Lakota people have a cultural understanding, “knowing that the buffalo gave its life for the sustenance of the people and for art.” Picking up a buffalo horn and shiny smooth black spoon made from another buffalo horn, Gerlach continued, “There are aspects of art in the food utensils we use to eat with. In being out on the prairie, doing what our people used to do, the buffalo is still providing for the people and bringing the people together. The rawhide drum made from buffalo hide brings the people together today the same way it did hundreds and thousands of years ago. The winter count, pictures painted on buffalo robes, is a record of the history of our people.”
Gerlach makes large drums like the ones used at powwows, hand held drums used in prayer songs in sweatlodges and other ceremonies, beautifully adorned buffalo hair pipe beaded breastplates worn as regalia, decorated buffalo skulls, also used in ceremonial altars or to adorn homes, and many small practical items such as eating utensils. He tans the buffalo hides using stone tools for scraping and cleaning.
Gerlach went on to express the many ways in which the Lakota depended on the buffalo for their survival and the sustainability of the culture. Gerlach reminded that the buffalo robes and the tipis made from their hides gave shelter and warmth and that the fat was used for waterproofing.
Their meat was used in stews, or it was dried and made into jerky and then ground up and mixed with dried fruits or berries to make pemmican. One of his fellow studio artists commented that pemmican is a kind of trail mix that is also used in ceremonies or as offerings.
Working with natural materials such as hides, stone and bone is not easy work. You can tell from the artists’ strong hands that theirs is not a desk job. Our ancestors spent many hours in a day hunting, tanning, boiling, drying, preserving, making clothing, caring for children, teaching, nurturing, making tools, making toys, telling stories, carrying on the religious traditions, recounting the historical highlights of the previous year.
It’s what kept the culture alive and the people thriving and strong. In the same way traditional artists work, learn, and teach others to keep the culture going. Rick Gerlach and Ryan Hunter share their small art studio with a third artist, Oglala Lakota, Stan Goodshield Hawkins. Their combined work can be seen and purchased at Racing Magpie Studios, 406 5th Street in downtown Rapid City where the artists are happy to describe their artwork in detail to visitors. Hang around long enough and you’ll hear some good stories.
(Contact Aly Duncun Neely at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)