Dorothy Eiken describes her great-great-grandmother, Yellow Eyes, whose photograph is displayed behind her, during a presentation at Van Meter State Park Saturday, March 10, 2007. (File photo/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

Arrow Rock State Historic Site will host a presentation Saturday, April 5, entitled "In the Spirit of Yellow Eyes: A Cultural Legacy."

Sponsored by Friends of Arrow Rock Inc. and Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the presentation begins at 10 a.m. in the historic site's visitor center. It is free and open to the public.

Dorothy Eiken is an artist, cultural interpreter and the great-great-granddaughter of Yellow Eyes, a Hunkpapa Sioux born approximately 1828 in what was then Dakota Territory.

From what is known of Yellow Eyes, she was a colorful and interesting character of the American West, according to Eiken.

She was in Sitting Bull's encampment at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and fled with his band to Canada in 1877. Yellow Eyes returned to the United States after Sitting Bull surrendered in 1881, and historians have noted that she was known as an informant for him. She died on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation about 1906.

Eiken is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Her presentations are on Lakota Sioux history, culture and traditions and Native American spirituality.

The artwork she creates is an extension of her heritage, which connects her to her cultural roots. Eiken's presentation will be a reflection of her Native American spirit and pride in her Indian heritage.

Since early childhood, Eiken has expressed herself with visual images creating intricate pencil sketches and watercolors of Native Americans. Through research and study, she has recreated Native American artifacts such as medicine wheels and traditional loom beading.

As part of her artistic and cultural expression, she has created her own ceremonial regalia made from deer hides and decorated with hand beading based on traditional Lakota designs of the mid-1800s.

Eiken had an 11-year career in broadcast photojournalism for which she received numerous awards and recognition.

She served in the office of North Dakota Governor George Sinner from 1989 to 1992 and was executive assistant to the director of Great Plains Native American Arts Cooperative in Mandan, N.D. She currently resides in California, Mo.

Arrow Rock State Historic Site is located in Arrow Rock on Highway 41 in Saline County. For more information, contact Arrow Rock State Historic Site at 660-837-3330.

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