Lakota Ledger Art at MRH&C Celebrates Healing, Culture, and Community

Posted 12/11/25 (Thu)

Lakota Ledger Art at MRH&C Celebrates Healing, Culture, and Community

Constrained on three sides by roadways and the fourth by Tiger Stadium, expanding the footprint of Mobridge Regional Hospital & Clinics on its current site over the last three years has required a fair bit of ingenuity. When the new in-patient wing was designed between 2019 and 2020, there was only so much room to build. It was decided that the in-patient windows would face a large storage building built approximately ten years ago, and the organization would work to find ways to make the view more patient-friendly with landscaping and outdoor art.

Last week, the MRH&C maintenance team carefully installed a vibrant new outdoor art series designed by celebrated Lakota artist Gil Kills Pretty Enemy III, a Standing Rock Hunkpapa Lakota. The seven panels depict seven concepts of health and healing through contemporary Lakota ledger art. Native shrubs, stonework, and young evergreens were planted to frame the artwork and grow into a dynamic foreground that provides four-season visual interest for patients, families, and visitors. The metal die-cut panels, each arriving in multiple pieces and measuring 8 feet wide by 14 feet tall, are a practical, durable way to improve the healing environment without major construction costs.

Decades of research show that art in healthcare environments does more than add beauty-it promotes measurable improvements in patient well-being. The field of neuroaesthetics demonstrates that color, pattern, and cultural imagery can activate regions of the brain associated with calming, emotional regulation, and hope, contributing to better healing experiences. A landmark study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine found that exposure to visual art can reduce stress and anxiety levels for hospitalized patients. In research conducted by Cleveland Clinic and multiple international health systems, patients with access to art or nature views experienced shorter hospital stays, reported less pain, and needed fewer pain medications.

The artist, Gil Kills Pretty Enemy III is a nationally recognized Lakota ledger artist and illustrator, known for revitalizing the traditional form of "ledger art"-a Plains Indian art tradition born in the 19th century when Native artists began painting on pages from accounting ledgers due to federal bans on traditional materials such as buffalo hide. Gil's work blends traditional Lakota symbolism, ledger art history, modern color and digital techniques, and powerful themes of resilience, identity and healing. Each of the seven pieces he created for MRH&C represents a component of health and wellness and pairs imagery with cultural meaning, reminding viewers that healing is not only physical-it's mental, emotional, spiritual, communal, and generational.

For MRH&C patients who spend hours or days looking out their hospital windows, these murals are now part of their healing environment-an improved view that tell a story of strength, hope, and the many ways people support one another on the path to healing. The organization is hosting a meet and greet with the artist next Wednesday, November 26 at Mobridge Regional Hospital. Doors will open at 11 a.m., Mr. Kills Pretty Enemy will discuss each panel and its meaning at 11:30 a.m., and attendees are welcomed to stay and have lunch with him afterwards. On-site lunches may be purchased that day from Dale's Café.

The names of each panel, from left to right, are Teaching (waúnspewičhakhiyapi), Exercising (tĥanglúškehanpi), Praying (wačhékiyapi), Doctoring (wáphiyapi), Healthy Talk (zaníyan wókčhiglakapi), Emotionally Healthy Behaviors (zaníyan čhantéyus oĥ'ánpi), and Loving (thewíčhaĥilapi)

For pictures of each panel and a full description from the artist, click HERE.