Bikers are riding in-DIAN style

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Motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world have been waiting for the return of the Indian. Now 47 years after the famed motorcycle company ceased production, much-beloved models named the Scout and Chief are back on the road like never before.

Lakota artists Ray Dupris, Greg Bourland and Mitch Zephier are creating a unique line of handmade Indian products-beaded saddlebags and key chains, engraved fender tips are just a few of the items-that promise to give the motorcycle an authenticity that lives up to its name.

It is said that George Hendee, founder of Indian Motorcycle Company back in 1902, named his company after a people he thought enshrined the virtues of freedom and endurance.

Greg Bourland, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, spearheaded today's partnership between Indian Motorcycle and the Lakota artists.

"I've always said motorcycles and Indians go hand in hand. They're the iron horses of today," he said. "Anybody who has ever gotten on a bike and gone 70 mph down the highway knows there's no other feeling like it in the world. Bikers still consider Native Americans to be the last of the free people other than themselves."

With nearly all the accessories made by hand, these products are one of a kind. They can never be mass-produced and are destined to become exclusive limited edition items.

"My whole part in this is simply to marry the artists to the company and build a relationship between them. It's kind of like a blind date where I introduce them and from there they are on their own," said Bourland.

Bourland sees his role as matchmaker as part of his duty as the elected chairman of the tribe and believes that creating sustainable cottage industries is one of the only realistic opportunities for those who live in isolated communities scattered across a reservation that runs more than 100 miles long. With Indian Motorcycle having more than 75 dealerships nationwide, Bourland hopes positive response to the accessories will garner interest that will translate into orders for the artists who in turn will have to hire additional workers on the reservation to meet demand.

But besides all the artists sharing a common love of motorcycles, there's another project that has brought them together, one that is allowing them to make a difference in their own individual communities. Bourland, along with the artisans, have customized an Indian motorcycle donated to the tribe by the company, which will be raffled off at Daytona Beach in March 2001. The bike was revealed for the first time publicly this summer at the Sturgis Bike Rally in South Dakota, the largest motorcycle rally in the world drawing upwards of 550,000 bike enthusiasts and every imaginable motorcycle manufacturer. The bike, adorned with its beaded buckskin saddlebags, a custom buffalo hide seat, and engraved tank panels made with German silver, was spectacular. The money raised from the raffle will be used to buy school clothes for needy children on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. And between now and then, the Lakota artists in partnership with Indian Motorcycle intend to do some serious promotion and marketing.