Jennifer is the Artistic and Educational Director of the Mitakuye Foundation – which she co-founded with her husband and creative partner, Simon J. Joseph, Ph.D., in 2011. Mitakuye was created to empower Native youth through arts programming and to share the healing power of art with kids living in intense poverty.
Jennifer has created and produced arts curriculum and programming including the Hoye Wayelo (“I Am Sending A Voice”) Arts Immersion programs, the Arts Mentorship program, The Creators Club, Quarterly Arts Contests, the School Art Supply program, and the new School Arts program. Mitakuye programs serve thousands of kids across the Pine Ridge and neighboring reservations.
Launched during the pandemic – Jennifer created curriculum for and filmed 35 art lessons on video and supplied over 1,500 students at 12 different schools with art kits for kids to work at home.
The Hoye Wayelo Arts Immersion programs bring local artists and visiting artists from around the globe to teach classes in Dance, Music, Music Production, Visual Arts, Filmmaking, Photography, Theater, Writing, and a full spectrum of Traditional Arts, including: Quillwork, Traditional Brain-Tanning, Beadwork, Plant Medicines, Sewing, and Music. Workshops take many different forms including community pop up programs, in-school residencies, and the Black Hills Summer Arts Academy: a week long sleep-away program that allows kids to experience the healing power of art combined with the healing power of nature in their sacred, ancestral lands.
The Creator’s Club is a year-round program that offers kids a monthly challenge as incentive to invest their time and energy into developing their own voices and telling their own stories. Students earn points every month they create and can win prizes in our quarterly art contests.