An Indigenous Artist's Journey

We recently spoke with Rapid City, SD-based artist Joe Pulliam ahead of his visit to our Lafayette, CO Hub on March 9th for next month’s Nagi Circle Gathering. Read on to learn about the powerful experiences and Lakota identity that inform his art:

Watercolor on ledger paper, Joe Pulliam 2017

As a child and young adult, Joe Pulliam underwent hardships deeply rooted in colonization and ongoing generational trauma - but through a journey into traditional Lakota ways, ledger art, and the #NoDAPL movement at Standing Rock, he has carved out a unique path as an artist and advocate.

Born on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Joe was impacted at a young age by a number of the challenges facing Indigenous Peoples. His family was sent to St. Paul, Minnesota in the 1970s as part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ relocation program before eventually returning to Pine Ridge, and he describes his upbringing as one that took place within an alcoholic family.

Over 100,000 Indigenous people were relocated by the BIA to urban areas between 1952 and 1972, in a bid by the federal government to make reservations and tribes obsolete (APM Reports, 2019). Hard alcohol was originally introduced to Indigenous communities by European settlers in an effort to establish a market demand for the substance, and to gain the upper hand during land and trade negotiations with tribes (National Institute of Health, 1998).

Alongside the challenges of Joe’s youth, however, sat a budding interest in art. After three years of service in the US Army, he entered graphic design school and studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He began to explore the medium of ledger art - a style which first appeared in the 19th-century, when warriors of the Plains tribes would record important events through visuals painted or drawn onto the pages of the US Army ledgers they had seized.

During this same period of artistic discovery, Joe was battling a severe addiction to alcohol and the psychological effects of trauma. “I was dealing with anger, guilt, and PTSD,” he shared.

Still, he persevered, working to hone his painting and design skills, raising two children on his own, and making a living selling art to tourists in the town of Pine Ridge.

The Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock, pictured in 2016 during a Tipi Raisers visit to deliver firewood to demonstrators.

In April 2016, Native youth and elders began to gather along the Cannonball River on the Standing Rock Reservation to pray - for the earth, for future generations, and for a stop to the planned construction of a pipeline through sacred Lakota lands and waterways. As the camp at Standing Rock and the #NoDAPL demonstrations grew, Joe was inspired to head north and join the movement.
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Still struggling with alcohol addiction, he was immediately taken in by the grandmothers at the camp. Amidst tense interactions with heavily armed private law enforcement, a tactical, warlike environment enveloped the camp. This atmosphere triggered some of Joe’s memories of military service - but the grandmothers kept him grounded, sharing traditional teachings with him: “Standing Rock gave me a sense of what my true identity is as a Lakota Wiċasa (man). It blew away the stereotypes and misinformation we hear, even growing up on the Rez. I didn’t really know who I was until I went to Standing Rock.” 

His experience at Standing Rock was a profound one, stirring him to paint ledger art which recorded important events of the #NoDAPL movement in real time - just like the Lakota artist-warriors of old. “As a modern warrior, it’s my role to take on this role [of ledger artist] and carry it forward. It changed my whole life,” Joe shared.

Camp Whiteclay Justice, 2017, pictured here during a service project with a Tipi Raisers volunteer group.

Upon his return to Pine Ridge in 2017, Joe was sober, inspired, and determined to make a difference for his People. Modeled after the Standing Rock encampment, he established Camp Whiteclay Justice on the reservation’s border with Whiteclay - a Nebraska town established by white residents for the purpose of selling alcohol to Indigenous people. For nearly a year, Joe and fellow demonstrators from the Standing Rock Movement brought awareness to the issue of alcohol abuse and the Whiteclay businesses profiting from addiction on Pine Ridge. In late 2017, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled against the businesses selling alcohol in Whiteclay, revoking the liquor licenses of all four local stores.

Today, Joe continues to advocate for change through artistic expression. On his artistic ethos, Joe stated: “My art brings awareness to a lot of the injustice and current situations. I intended to use this traditional art form of ledger art to do the same thing the original ledger artists were doing - to preserve history and culture.” 
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Alongside a non-Native business partner, he plans to open a gallery in downtown Rapid City, SD that will highlight the work of both Native and non-Native artists within a shared space: “It will be an example of Natives and non-Natives working together through art to bring about a better cultural understanding and reconciliation."

Joe Pulliam chatting with local attendees of last year's Indigenous Wisdom Gathering in Eagle, CO

A cross-cultural partnership such as this is somewhat uncommon in Rapid City, a town in which Indigenous people still face rampant discrimination. In celebrating contemporary art across lines of difference, Joe hopes the gallery will bridge cultural gaps and challenge prejudice in the local community: “There's a need to see our people active in our community as businessmen or councilmembers, to break the stereotypes of the drunken Indian, the lazy Indian - especially here in Rapid City. It’s a challenge, but it’s something we can do.”

His previous business, Tusweca Gallery, was housed in the old central bank of Rapid City, from which countless deeds for Indigenous lands were signed off to white settlers. We had the privilege of visiting the gallery in the summer of 2023; there was a deep poetic justice in witnessing the reclamation of the space by a Lakota artist, surrounded by empowering images of Native resilience and ledger art painted on the pages of century-old bank logs.

In the face of ongoing challenges impacting the Lakota people - poverty, generational trauma, addiction and beyond - Joe continues to work towards institutional change and healing through art, and to build bridges across cultures and backgrounds: “That’s what my gallery is about: Natives and non-Natives can work together. That’s where the solutions are.” 

Check out Joe's art at the next Nagi Circle Gathering

Joe will be joining us here at our Hub in Lafayette, CO next week for the March Nagi Circle Gathering, where he will share more about his art and story with attendees. His art will also be available for sale.

We invite you to join us for this free, all ages event on Saturday March 9th from 2pm-4pm. Additional details can be found HERE.