Janet and Eliza Klarer, a mother-daughter duo from the White Earth Ojibwe community, are preserving traditional Woodland-style pottery inspired by their ancestor Judy Toppings, who revitalized White Earth clay lifeways. Through workshops and their own artistry, they share the significance of working with White Earth clay, nurturing creativity and connection in their community.
The complexity of Native people and their identities drew Anna to sculpture, video performance, and installation. She uses her familial and formal training to disrupt stereotypes of Natives by telling multi-dimensional stories. The story drives her choice of technique and materials, defying boundaries around Native art.
Ira Ilupak Frankson, an Iñupiaq artist from Tikiġaq, Alaska, is preserving the traditional art of baleen basketry, an Iñupiat craft made from bowhead whale baleen and walrus ivory. Through his work and teaching, Frankson is helping to revitalize this unique cultural art form for future generations.
The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) announced new efforts to enhance Native arts curriculum development programs at six tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). Each of the participating TCUs will receive $100,000 to enrich their curricula by integrating Indigenous education values and incorporate Native knowledge, language, and cultural practices. The project will also help to expand institutional capacity, developing or revising academic courses, minors, and certificate and degree programs.
Sinte Gleska University’s high school equivalency students become grounded in their cultural identities as they lead community engagement efforts through Native Arts workshops.
Diné film and TV director Blackhorse Lowe met with the College Fund to speak about what it means to be an Indigenous director. Lowe grew up on the Navajo Nation hearing traditional and family stories and watching movies–lots of movies, which influenced his path on becoming a film and TV director.
The warm smell of burning firewood wafted around us as we stepped out of the car. The cool still morning and chirping birds greeted us as we entered the building of the Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni (ARTZ) which houses silver and turquoise jewelry and is adorned with colorful paintings all created by Zuni artists.
Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) transitioned from holding in-person classes and community events to closing their campuses, instead offering academic courses online or through distance learning. Community programming and events were canceled or postponed, greatly impacting TCUs, students, and the communities they serve.
To help TCUs during the transition, seven TCUs were awarded Distance Learning Grants. Each had a different approach on how they would continue to provide Native Arts programming while keeping their students and community members safe. Each explored how they were going to bring people together while keeping them safely apart.
In the fall of 2017, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) hosted a series of traditional Native Arts workshops that relied heavily on the surrounding environment for source materials to help produce a woven cedar mat. Using local resources and materials to create and revitalize traditional Native art forms is the essence of place-based education in the arts.
The American Indian College Fund (the College Fund) hosted a Native Arts convening in Seattle, Washington in September, 2018. Seven program Administrators of the Restoration and Preservation of Traditional Native Art Forms and Knowledge Grant participated in the Native Arts convening from the College of Menominee Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Leech Lake Tribal College, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, Sisseton Wahpeton College, Sitting Bull College and United Tribes Technical College.
