Jeremy Red Eagle is one of nine winners of the 2024 Midwest Culture Bearers Award. This award celebrates artisans and folk arts practitioners whose work is rooted in cultural preservation and sharing knowledge with the next generation.
“I am a traditional Dakota/plains style bowyer. I make our authentic Dakota style bows, arrows, quivers and related tools. I have taught a minimum of six different workshops/classes as well as a handful of presentations. All being done in Dakota communities such as, Sisseton, Lake Andes and Flandreau SD, Lower Sioux Indian community, and for Ft Peck and Spirit lake community Colleges.
It is my goal to revitalize our bow making and to use it to help our young men reconnect with their roles and responsibility in our communities. I have traveled all over Indian country learning from different people that posses the knowledge of our traditional bow and arrows. In our oral traditions, our bow and arrows have many stories and teachings connected to them besides just their practical use in hunting and protection. I have also spent years learning and documenting our Dakota language connected to the bow and arrow.”