In September of 2015, Bridget Skenadore, Native Arts and Culture Project Coordinator, presented at the 2016 International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries and Museums conference hosted by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM) in Washington, DC. The annual conference allows of an exchange of dialogue between Indigenous organizations, museums and libraries “who work to protect and advance cultural sovereignty.”
The conference gave the American Indian College Fund (the Fund) the opportunity to showcase to an international audience the innovative initiative that is helping 13 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) in the upper-Midwest to help preserve lost or endangered art forms and why it is important to the students and community they serve. Ms. Skenadore presented on the Restoration and Preservation of Traditional Native Arts and Knowledge grant.
Participating TCUs are doing a wonderful job in helping to preserve lost or endangered art forms through academic courses or community extension activities that they have developed and implemented. The following TCUs and their projects were highlighted during the presentation; Sitting Bull College’s How to Quill and How to Bead workshop, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College’s Corn Braiding workshop, United Tribes Technical College’s Horse Effigy workshop, College of Menominee Nation’s Traditional Snowshoe Making workshop, and Sisseton Wahpeton College’s Traditional Dakota Pottery workshop. Master artists play an integral role in the execution of the academic courses and community extension activities and for the presentation three master artists were highlighted; Gabrielle Tateyuskanskan, Butch Thunderhawk and Dan Jerome.
The Restoration and Preservation of Traditional Native Arts and Knowledge grant is currently in the second year of the three year grant and it will conclude in the fall of 2016.
