The map above was drawn under the direction of BIA Superintendent L.C. Lippert in 1938 by Emery Kensler. The beautifully illustrated map can be viewed in greater detail at the library. The map details many historic areas and events on Standing Rock. The library has a copy of the map above on display in addition to the even more artfully enhanced copy by Ralph Shane produced in 1944 and based on the Kensler map. The map can be seen below. While containing some dated content, language and being flawed products of their time period, they remain useful guides and beautifully rendered drawings into the present. A detailed high resolution version of the Shane map can be viewed on the library website here
Shane was also a BIA Superintendent and the artist of a number of reservation maps including this Fort Berthold map at the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
More information is needed as to the process and reasons behind the creation of the two maps. Given the time period, were they connected somehow with New Deal projects and programs? While the Shane map has been widely circulated and reprinted, the earlier Kensler map is less known and more obscure. Why were these maps created by the government?
The renewed interest in history during this time period carries on in a collection of government documents known as the Lippert Papers. The library has copies of the typed notes from 7 meetings that took place in 1939 and 1940. In 77 pages, the meetings detail a version of Standing Rock history that has in itself become history as many of those involved were the now storied characters of the early 20th century like Lakota historians Josephine Waggoner, Frank Zahn and photographer and publisher Frank Fiske.
Was there a connection between the maps above and the narratives within the Lippert Papers? More research is needed. It is also unclear whether the 7 meetings the library has are the full extent of the meetings or if there are more documents to be found within government records. The records of the seven meetings can be accessed at the links below.
