Visiting the Dignity Of Earth and Sky Statue – Chamberlain, South Dakota
“Dignity of Earth and Sky” is a beautiful statue of an indigenous woman overlooking the Missouri River, in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Read on to learn how to visit and see the Dignity Statue off of Interstate 90 in South Dakota while on your road trip.
Dignity Location
The Dignity statue is situated in an extremely convenient location, at the Chamberlain Rest Area, right off of I-90 at a rest stop. So if you’re on your way/(or your way back from) to Mt. Rushmore, Badlands National Park, the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park, you’re probably going to pass through this area. The statue is over 50 feet tall; if you pull into this rest area, you can’t miss it!
The Dignity Statue was designed by artist Claude Lamphereby and commissioned by Norm and Eunabel McKie of Rapid City as a gift to the state of South Dakota, in celebration of the state’s 125th anniversary of its statehood. Dignity shows an indigenous woman dressed in a Plains-style dress, with a beautiful star quilt design on the back and honors the Lakota and Dakota tribes in South Dakota. Mr. Lamphereby began designing the statue in 2015 and it was erected in the fall of 2016.
Additional information
Like I said, the Dignity Statue is located at a rest area, so you’re going to get all your typical rest area amenities. This rest area serves both directions of the highway, and has a very large parking lot. You’ll have clean restrooms, plenty of green space and picnic tables, pet relief areas, and vending machines.
In addition to seeing the Dignity Statue, you can walk a short trail to an overlook over the Chamberlain area. I’ve driven this stretch of I-90 so many times and crossing the Missouri River when going through Chamberlain is always a highlight on a road trip – to me, this signifies leaving the Midwest behind and entering the west! It’s a beautiful (but very short!) stretch of I-90, in what is otherwise an ass-numbing drive.
The overlook is located on a hill high above the Missouri, so I expected a great view. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. You can’t compose a nice shot of here. You’re going to a photo of mostly grass, a stretch of I-90, with the river and bridge way off in the distance. See photo below. Not too impressive.
Dignity Statue – Final Thoughts
Pros:
Statue is a beautiful work of art!
Easy to access off the highway
Rest area amenities
Cons:
Trail to the overlook is disappointing.
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What internet photos are available on Chamberlain South Dakota?