Aug. 4, 2023

Watecha Bowl has opened a gift shop with traditionally made Lakota and other Sioux art.

Lawrence West, owner and founder of the Lakota street food restaurant at 2305 W. Madison St., said he started the gift shop as “an ode to Studio 1491,” his previous custom T-shirt business.

West said the new gift shop will sell Native print jackets, in-house made regalia, quill work and moccasins. 

“The main focus of starting this gift shop was to take the novelty off of the Native American trading post,” he said.

“I’m pretty particular about what items come into the gift shop. Up to this point, everything that you’ve seen (elsewhere) is not based off of our beliefs. We’re not technically represented properly because it’s not being done by a Lakota or a Sioux with our traditional beliefs and background.”

West, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said many non-Native American people sell inauthentic art and make “a ton of money off of Native American culture.” 

His new gift shop will support local Native American artists. Two local vendors provide the soaps, candles and wax melts in the gift shop.

West said the quilled items, beadwork and moccasins are made in-house.

“That’s the difference in our gift shop compared to other gift shops. We bring that actual traditional aspect to it,” West said. “So when you come in and order a pair of moccasins, they are made traditionally and properly and in good taste.”

Currently, the gift shop features paintings from an Arizona artist, Terry Glad Flores, who depicts Native American celebrities in traditional paintings. 

“Waetcha Bowl is synonymous with quality,” West said. 

West said the restaurant also has a 12-piece charcoal series on handmade paper created by local charity artist Kurt Holdorf. The drawings are of Native American chiefs, medicine men and women leaders. 

“The thing that makes it unique is that the head busts used for these drawings were also used to make a Native American deck of cards that are an education piece,” West said. Watecha Bowl also sells these decks of cards in the gift shop.

From honey sticks to tumblers, “everything is handmade by a local artist and has a connection or does some sort of beneficial work for the Native American community.”

West said that as the gift shop expands, it will add traditional Lakota-made drums, regalia and more Native American items for personal and ceremonial use.

Backpack drive

With the back-to-school season approaching, West is offering guests one Indian taco in return for the donation of a backpack. Donations will be accepted through Aug. 21.