Double Woman Dreamer

One woman’s dream-guided journey to become an artistic visionary and Lakota elder

• Recounts how the author was led to her adoptive Lakota parents and spiritual teachers by recurring dreams

• Shares her initiation into Sun Dance, the Lakota women’s society of the Double Woman, and tales from life on ranches and reservations

• Describes her discovery by Kevin Costner, leading to her costuming and consulting work on Dances with Wolves and 40 other films

In this Hanblo`glaka—a traditional Lakota telling of a spiritual journey—Cathy A. Smith shares her inspiring transformation from a single yet determined young mother to one of the last Double Woman Dreamers.

Abandoned on a remote ranch with her infant daughter, Smith is guided by a recurring dream into the care of a Lakota Medicine Man and his wife, who adopt her as their daughter and lead her into a world of ceremony, vision, Sun Dance, and the sacred women’s society of Double Woman. In mastering the ancient Lakota arts of beadwork and quillwork, she discovers not only her vocation but her destiny.

That destiny soon reaches far beyond the reservation. After her initiation as a Double Woman Dreamer, the spirit world carries her to Hollywood, where Kevin Costner selects her as the Lakota costume creator and cultural consultant for Dances with Wolves. The film’s sweeping success launches Smith into a 35-year career presenting the authentic regalia of Native Americans in more than 40 major films, including the 1991 miniseries, Son of the Morning Star, for which she earned an Emmy award, as well as her work on more recent series such as Longmire and Dark Winds. Throughout it all, she also carries on her responsibilities as a respected elder on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.

Embedded throughout with behind-the-scenes history, including tales from frontier life in South Dakota and tragic events such as the murder of Crazy Horse, this memoir of vision and resilience reveals the extraordinary path of a life guided by spirit—the life of a Double Woman Dreamer.