Sioux Indian Museum to Present, Behind the Lens: Inside the Life of John Anderson

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA: Conor McMahon, Senior Curator for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB), will present a lecture, Behind the Lens: Inside the Life of John Anderson, on Friday, March 17, 2023, at 12:00 PM.  The presentation is in conjunction with the Journey Museum’s Turtle Soup Lecture Series.  More information can be found at https://www.journeymuseum.org/education/

John Anderson is widely known as one of the finest historic photographers of Lakota culture in the South Dakota.  He lived and worked on the Rosebud Indian Reservation from 1893-1935.  During this time, he documented the people and daily life of the early reservation era through hundreds of large format photographs.  While living in Rosebud, Anderson also assembled one of the finest collections of Lakota artifacts in the country.  This collection became the core of the Sioux Indian Museum, which Anderson founded in 1936.  He developed the original museum exhibits in Rapid City’s Halley Park, before selling the collection to the Department of the Interior in 1939.  The Sioux Indian Museum is now operated by the IACB, which continues to exhibit much of John Anderson’s historic collection alongside artwork by contemporary Lakota artists.

   This lecture will explore the life and times of John Anderson.  Senior Curator Conor McMahon will share Anderson’s documentary photographs as well as discuss the importance of his collection as both a window to the past and a resource for contemporary Lakota artists and craftspeople. 

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The Sioux Indian Museum, managed by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, U.S. Department of the Interior, is located in The Journey Museum, 222 New York Street, Rapid City, SD 57701.  For admission fees and hours of operation please call (605) 394-6923 or visit https://doi.gov/iacb/our-museums/sioux