The Story
Peter "Pete" Duhamel arrived in Rapid City in 1879 and founded the Duhamel Company in 1907; its saddle operation became the largest in the U.S. by World War I. The family's 1908 building at 522 6th Street is cited as the finest Chicago School architecture in the city. The Duhamels also co-founded, with Lakota medicine man Nicholas Black Elk, the Duhamel Sioux Indian Pageant (staged 1934-1957), widely called the first public Native-created dance pageant in the country. The trading post closed in 1985; its ~1,000-piece Native arts collection was donated to the City and now anchors an exhibit at The Journey Museum.
Surprising Facts
→ By World War I the Duhamel Company was the largest saddle supplier in the entire United States.
→ Its 1934-1957 Sioux Indian Pageant, co-founded with Nicholas Black Elk, is considered the first public dance pageant created by a Native American.
→ When it closed in 1985, its ~1,000-piece collection went to the city and is now at The Journey Museum.