Programs and Events 2009
The Great Grandson of Sitting Bull, Ernie LaPointe, visits Finland in June
Ernie LaPointe was born in 1948 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota with his half-sister Marlene Little Spotted Horse. Their late mother Angelique LaPointe Spotted Horse was a housewife. His late father Claude LaPointe farmed in Pine Ridge and worked in a lumber yard in Rapid City.
Ernie attended the public school system in Rapid City. When he was 10 years old, his mother died of cancer. At age 17 his father died of a heart attack. He lived with his (half) Sister Marlene until he was 18 and old enough to join the military. He was stationed in Korea, Turkey, and Germany, and all over the United States. Mr. LaPointe did one tour in Vietnam in 1970-71. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in 1972.
On his Mother’s side he is the Great Grandson of Sitting Bull and Seen By Her Nation Woman. Mr. LaPointe can point out a long line of chiefs on his Mother’s as well as on his Father’s side. His Grandfather, Spotted Horse was the son of Hunts Enemy and the Grandson of Chief Charging Bear. His Great Grandmother’s (Tokala Win LaPointe) brother was Chief Painted Horse.
Mr. LaPointe met his wife, Sonja, at a pow wow in Rapid City, SD; they will be married for 13 years in April 2008. Mr. LaPointe is a Sun Dancer and lives the traditional way of the Lakota and follows the rules of the sacred pipe.
Ernie LaPointe will give a speech at SIIDA Museum in Inari on June 6 at 10:00 and at Arktikum in Rovaniemi on June 7 at 14:00.
Ernie LaPointe visits Helsinki on June 8th and will give two lectures; at 15.00 at the Helsinki City Library in Pasila and at 17.30 at the Cultural Centre Caisa.
Ernie LaPointe visits Tampere on June 11th and will give a lecture at the Museum Centre Vapriikki at 13:00. Museum Centre Vapriikki will also have a Sitting Bull exhibition from June 12th to November 8th, 2009.
Ernie LaPointe in Helsinki flyer can be printed from here. (.pdf 252KB)
Find more about Native American History and Culture as well as Ernie LaPointe and the Lakota Indians from a American Resource Center's newsletter. (.pdf 770KB)