The Oscar Howe murals in Mobridge were restored over the summer. The murals were damaged by heat and smoke from a fire in the 50’s. The paintings were also showing other signs of aging.
Nicholas Ward helped with the restoration. He says the murals are an important part of South Dakota history because they tell a visual story of traditional Native American rituals like the Kettle Dance.
“This specific ceremony was borrowed from the Omaha tribe, and so you also have in these murals certain things like that that key you into trade routes. So you know, because this is borrowed from the Omaha tribe, that that’s telling a story about how people were traveling from Omaha on the Missouri River up to Mobridge - and some of those things are explained by ceremonies that are traded back and forth between tribes,” says Ward.
Howe’s ten murals were painted in 1942 and are titled “History Along the Missouri River” and “Ceremonies of the Sioux”. The Oscar Howe murals are located in the Scherr Howe Arena in the Mobridge Auditorium.
