Anpo Wicahpi

Artist Statement

Anpo Wicahpi is a Large scale, permanent, public artwork at Oyate Health Center, Rapid City, SD that honors the past as a new chapter of indigenous-lead healthcare begins with the Oyate Health Center. Anpo Wicahpi translates into English as Morning Star. The design is inspired by traditional Lakota geometry and specifically that of the Morning Star. Anpo Wicahpi is a symbol of new beginnings and a central element of Lakota spirituality. As Lakota, we are taught to begin our day praying to the Morning Star. The geometric star design is also common in contemporary star quilts. The Lakota use star quilts to honor people in both life and in death.

The imagery in Anpo Wicahpi is from several periods in the history of the Oyate Health Center campus including the Rapid City Indian Boarding School, Sioux Sanitorium Tuberculosis Clinic, and Sioux San Hospital. Mirrors are utilized within the piece to bring the viewer into the complex story created by the tapestry of images and to remind us that we are the future and we have the power to make positive change in our peoples’ story.

This mural is dedicated to all of our Uncis and the generational strength, wisdom, and compassion that brought us to where we are today.