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The Lakota Music Project is a program of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. The Lakota Music Project addresses racial tension by creating an environment of openness through music. South Dakota has nine reservations and a long history of racial tension. Native American communities have faced the loss of cultural traditions, with many losing traditional native languages due to generations of criminalization from discriminatory laws and cultural erasure. At its foundation, Lakota Music Project is a practical demonstration of how music can advance cultural understanding. Lakota Music Project strives to lay a path for reconciliation by using music to break down barriers between cultures by exploring our cultural similarities, rather than focusing on their differences. Of utmost importance, SDSO works with native American musicians to create a Lakota Music Project performance. It is built by the artists working together collaboratively, which requires open communication, trust, and a genuine appreciation for each other’s art forms. A Lakota Music Project live concert features South Dakota Symphony musicians and native American musicians from South Dakota tribes each performing the music of their heritages as well as unique repertoire commissioned for all of them to play together.