La Framboise Island – Art on the Land
Visited on site: [10/01/2025]
Location & Moment
Set in the Missouri River near Pierre, La Framboise Island is a quiet sanctuary surrounded by water and time. Named for Joseph La Framboise, a French-Canadian trader of the early 1800s, it once served as a gathering place for Lakota families, voyageurs, and fur traders who traveled the river’s length in search of trade and connection. Today, its cottonwoods and trails offer a peaceful retreat — a living reminder of the early frontier where nature and culture intertwined.
Historical Background — The Island of Exchange
In the era of the American Fur Company, La Framboise Island stood at the crossroads of commerce and cooperation. It was a place of passage where languages mixed freely, and where goods and stories moved with the current. The island’s history echoes the spirit of early diplomacy — where relationships between Native nations and traders were shaped not by conquest, but by understanding and exchange. Over time, the trade quieted, and the island returned to nature, holding its stories beneath the rustle of leaves and the call of river birds.
Artist’s Reflection
I painted here with the sound of the river around me —
calm, constant, alive.
This island once held trade and talk;
now it holds peace.
The same wind that carried canoes
now carries silence through the trees.