The eight-pointed star quilt has become a signature Lakota art form and an honored gift. Beneath the postcard scenery runs a human history as deep and layered as the Badlands rock.

The morning-star design draws on both older hide-painting and European quilting.

What sets it apart

Quilts are given to mark births, graduations, weddings and funerals. It is the kind of specific that turns a passing curiosity into a lasting fascination.

Skilled quilters can spend weeks piecing a single full-size star.

Why it matters

Taken together, these threads say something about South Dakota itself — a place where the old and the new sit close together. It is a heritage still very much alive in the communities and gatherings of today's South Dakota.