SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A festival celebrating Native American music, art, and culture is back for a second year.
From live music to arts and crafts, the All My Relatives Festival will soon take over the Levitt area in downtown Sioux Falls on Friday night and Saturday.
“It’s just going to be an exciting weekend to learn about our neighbors,” Halverson said.
The free, two-day event highlights the work of Indigenous artists, including fashion designer Kyrie Dunkley.
She’s coordinating a fashion show featuring several designers.
“It’s just important to see the kind of representation that’s out there. There’s not just one particular, stereotypical look that we have. There’s modern apparel, there’s more traditional apparel. There’s a twist on everything we do and it all has specific meaning to us,” Dunkley said.
Hip-hop artist Gabriel Night Shield will emcee the weekend and open for a headline act.
“I’m honored. I had the opportunity to do it last year, and it was a great time. It was actually the highlight of my year last year,” Night Shield said.
Last year’s festival attracted thousands of people.
“For a long time, I’ve stated before, that we haven’t the ability to showcase our true selves. There was a time in history when we weren’t allowed to do that. Right now, it’s getting to a point where we are able to do that proudly, publicly, and have it embraced,” Dunkley said.
“Here in South Dakota, we need to learn about our history, and we need to appreciate the cultures that are surrounding us all of the time. Our native neighbors are our family, and the more we learn about one another the more peace we’ll have in our community,” Levitt at the Falls Executive Director Nancey Halverson said.
The festival is being hosted in partnership with the Wokini Initiative at SDSU.
Click here for the full festival.
