Wicahpi Vision Arts Cooperative
Loretta Afraid of Bear Cook
358 Bordeaux
PO Box 859
Chadron, Neb. 69337
(308) 432-2502

When Loretta Afraid of Bear Cook was the assistant to the director of the Chadron Chamber of Commerce, she frequently heard a question that made her think: Tourists passing through the tiny community just south of the Pine Ridge Reservation and on a main highway toward Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills were forever asking whether Indian art and handicrafts were available in the town.

Although Plains Indian crafts lack the obvious attraction of turquoise and silver that have made Indian crafts into a reasonable living for some Southwestern tribes, she said, the Lakotas' beadwork, quill work and "star" design blankets have a beauty all their own. "They're not 'artsy-craftsy' but fine art," she said.

Believing that there was a market, Loretta and her husband, Tom, didn't let a small matter like utter lack of experience in business get in their way. Denied bank loans, they persuaded Running Strong for American Indian Youth (which was already helping Tom's farming project) to come up with $10,000, to which they added a $2,000 loan and $1,700 of their own savings to rent a small building in Chadron and procure inventory from Lakota craftsmen. To their amazement, before the traffic died with the end of the tourist season in September, they covered their expenses and were $7,000 ahead. Based on that success, she spent a good part of the winter traveling to boutiques and galleries around the United States, and even (unsuccessfully) in Europe, seeking markets for Lakota crafts.

The key to this, as a contribution to the Lakota economy, is not merely the Cooks' successful entrepreneurship. Rather, they operate as a crafts cooperative, providing at least a part-time source of income for more than 400 Lakota artists ranging from age 7 to 80. Most of the profits above expenses go back to the craftsmen; in cases where outside shops want to establish an ongoing relationship with the artist, Cook backs out of the picture and turns the business over to the artist directly.

While no one is making a living wage at it yet, and many of the 400 artists have done only one or occasional pieces, several are making as much as $10,000 a year now. On the Pine Ridge reservation, that's not small money.

All the feature stories on @GRASS-ROOTS.ORG's pages are reported and written by Robin Garr, a prize-winning journalist who has visited more than 500 innovative grassroots programs in all 50 states since 1990.

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