Ernie LaPointe the Great Grandson of Sitting BullErnie LaPointe the Great Grandson of Sitting Bull Ernie LaPointe the Great Grandson of Sitting BullErnie LaPointe the Great Grandson of Sitting Bull

Ernie LaPointe, the Great Grandson of Sitting Bull, my dear friend captured in the historic wet plate collodion process of pure silver on glass. The plate with his drum is called “Oka Wicasa” which translates in Lakota as “Singer”. Native American drummers are called singers in their culture. These two plates represent the last plates that I will ever make in my original makeshift studio. Ernie is sitting in the same chair he did so many years ago when I took my first plate of a him. Ernie is where it all began for my “Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective” series.

8x10”’black glass ambrotypes, f4.5, Carl Zeiss Tessar 3 lens, 11 seconds of exposure, continuous fluorescent lights.

As of January 2018, the Heard Museum in Arizona, the world leader in Native American Art has requested the original plate "Singer" for their collection.  Ernie and I are very proud of this request and the original black glass ambrotype will be donated to them on our behalf. 

Ernie LaPointe and Shane BalkowitschErnie LaPointe and Shane Balkowitsch Ernie LaPointe and Shane BalkowitschErnie LaPointe and Shane Balkowitsch Ernie LaPointe and Shane BalkowitschErnie LaPointe and Shane Balkowitsch