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Street scene in the town of Keystone on the outskirts of Mount Rushmore showing a tourist store selling what it calls 'Indian arts and crafts'. The Black HIlls, sacred to the Lakota and site of Mount Rushmore, are an important source of tourism revenue for the state of South Dakota. In particular, the 'Western Towns' such as Deadwood, Keystone and others, bring in millions of visitors each year to experience the old style 'American West'. And in the 'American West' the Lakota and other Indian nations continue to be represented as 'The Noble Savage' image - on horse back, living in tipis, sporting massive feathered head gear and such. All evidence of the modern history of the Lakota, their struggle and their current reality are absent from places like Keystone, Deadwood and other 'Western' tourism towns.

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Filename: A_Rafiqui_Lakota_125.jpg
Copyright: Asim Rafiqui/National Geographic (France)
Image Size: 2000x3000 / 7.2MB

Street scene in the town of Keystone on the outskirts of Mount Rushmore showing a tourist store selling what it calls 'Indian arts and crafts'. The Black HIlls, sacred to the Lakota and site of Mount Rushmore, are an important source of tourism revenue for the state of South Dakota. In particular, the 'Western Towns' such as Deadwood, Keystone and others, bring in millions of visitors each year to experience the old style 'American West'. And in the 'American West' the Lakota and other Indian nations continue to be represented as 'The Noble Savage' image - on horse back, living in tipis, sporting massive feathered head gear and such. All evidence of the modern history of the Lakota, their struggle and their current reality are absent from places like Keystone, Deadwood and other 'Western' tourism towns.