Sitting Bull descendant coming to Niles

Published 2:58 pm Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The last surviving great-grandson of the legendary Lakota leader, Sitting Bull, will be at the Fort St. Joseph Museum in Niles Friday and Saturday.

Ernie LaPointe will be make an appearance from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

He will be available to sign his book, “Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy,” and his DVD relating the story of Sitting Bull. Both items will be available for purchase at the museum. The book is $20, and the DVD is $30.

Another item related to local Native American history will be available for purchase in the museum gift shop as well. The Indian trails map created by Niles resident Ralph Ballard in 1939 is being reproduced and will be available in two sizes. The cost of the smaller size will be $6 and the larger will be $10. The map depicts the Indian trails, villages and garden beds throughout Southwest Michigan.

The maps are being provided as a gift to the museum by a private individual and Berrien RESA.

Twelve pictographs drawn by Sitting Bull will also be available for viewing. The pictographs were given by Sitting Bull to the Horace Quimby family, which settled in Niles and eventually donated them to the museum.

For more information, contact Carol Bainbridge at (269) 683-4700 ext. 212 or send an email to cbainbridge@nilesmi.org.