Native American storyteller, oral historian, and musician Jerome Kills Small will join us to kick off the D-Days weekend with a noon performance in the National Music Museum’s new Janet Wanzek Performance Hall this Friday, October 1.

In addition to sharing his culture through music and storytelling, Kills Small also plans to present the National Music Museum with a handmade drum he created using traditional materials and methods. The drum, made from tanned buffalo hide, will be added to the collections at the NMM and displayed as part of the NMM’s commitment to celebrate the music and history of our indigenous peoples and support the modern makers of these instruments.

An Oglala Lakota originally from Porcupine, SD, Kills Small is a retired University of South Dakota professor of Native American studies. Through his 20-year tenure at USD and currently as an elder in the community, Kills Small continues to share his culture through stories, music, and workshops.

The National Music Museum is be open to the public for limited hours beginning on October 1, 2021. Guests can tour “NMM Goes Electric!,” the first exhibition installed in the Groves Gallery, and shop the museum store. Fall hours are Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays from 10am-2pm.