CONTEMPORARY LAKOTA LEDGER ART

Ledger art, the 19th-century Plains practice of drawing warriors and buffalo on old ledger paper, has resurged: Lakota and Cheyenne artists draw current events (protecting water from pipelines, for example) in the same narrative style, often on actual antique ledger pages or digital replicas. By fusing past and present, this contemporary ledger art is inclusive and poignant—a visual saga of Indigenous survival and commentary that resonates globally as both historical document and modern protest art.