[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 28, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S2756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO PAULETTE MONTILEAUX

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I wish today to pay tribute to Ms. 
Paulette Montileaux of Rapid City, SD, on an outstanding 42 years of 
service to the Federal Government as an employee of the U.S. Department 
of Interior's Indian Arts and Crafts Board. An enrolled member of the 
Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Ms. Montileaux began her service in Rapid City as 
a clerk and typist for the Indian Arts and Crafts Board in 1967. In 
1978, she was promoted to Museum Assistant, and in 1983 she was named 
Curator for the Sioux Indian Museum.
  The Sioux Indian Museum in Rapid City was founded in 1939 and is home 
to the historic Anderson Collection from the Rosebud Reservation, which 
was gathered in the 1880s and 1890s. This museum is one of three such 
unique and important Museums nationwide under the care of the Indian 
Arts and Crafts Board. Over the years, this Museum's collections have 
grown into one of the most extensive collections of Lakota/Dakota/
Nakota artifacts. Ms. Montileaux and her staff have worked tirelessly 
to preserve these possessions. Housed within the Journey Museum for the 
past 13 years, items from the Sioux Indian Museum are viewed by the 
public in a realistic travel through time.
  For 42 years, Ms. Montileaux worked to preserve the history of the 
Lakota/Dakota/Nakota people by maintaining existing collections, as 
well acquiring new pieces of art. According to Authur Amiotte, during 
her long career she assisted in and witnessed the beginning careers of 
many traditional tribal artisan and contemporary painters, sculptors, 
and jewelers. Among her varied responsibilities, she coordinated a 
number of special exhibits each year to highlight the work of emerging 
artists. The integrity of the collections within the museum and their 
existence for future generations is in no small part thanks to Ms. 
Montileaux.
  Ms. Montileaux went about her important work each day quietly and 
without any self interest; all of her attention was always focused on 
the collections and their importance to the tribes and all residents of 
South Dakota. Again, I congratulate her on her retirement and wish her 
and her husband Don Montileaux all the best on their future 
endeavors.

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