Hearts of Our People, Native Women Artists Part II

After I saw Hearts of Our People at the end of July, I knew that I wanted to see it again with my daughter.  The deep connection that the Native women have to sharing with their daughters and grand daughters moved me deeply.  This deep connection is growing with Amaliya, my daughter, and I.

 Cara Romero

Marguerite Vincent Lawinonkie, Wendat (Huron), 1783-1865
Moccasins, 1838/1847-54 Black dyed hide with moose-hair embroidery, cotton thread, silk lining, binding and ribbon

Nellie Two Bear Gates (Gathering of Clouds Woman) Ihankthunwanna Dakhota, Standing Rock Reservation 1854 - ?
Valise, 1880-1910, Beads, hide, metal, oilcloth, thread

Zoe Urness, Tlinget, born 1984
December 5, 2016: No Spiritual Surrender, 2016 Digital Photograph

    Amaliya Rose listening to the words of the native women telling the story of their art.

Faye HeavyShield, Kainawa (Blood) Naiton of the Blakfoot Confederacy, Canadian born 1953
Aapaskaiyaawa (They Are Dancing) 2010

Yupik Artist (Name unknown)
Beaded headdress, before 1898, Glass Beads, thread, rawhide

 

 D. Y. Begay, Navajo, born 1953

Nahookosji Hai (Winter in the North)/ Beboon Giiwedinony (It is Winter in the North)

2018

Wool and natural dyes

C.C Maxx Stevens, Seminale/Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, born 1951
Childhood, 2004, Hanging paper dress with light

Jolene Rickard, Tuscarora, born 1956
...the sky is darkening... 2018
infused dye on aluminum and fabric/beaded birds

Ramona Sakiestewa, Hopi, born 1948
Nebula 22& 23 (diptych), 2009
Tapestry, wool warp, dyed wool weft

The beading on these pieces is amazing, intricate and precise.  I don't have the names or Nations of these artists.  Please know that they were identified. Unfortunately, I missed taking the photos to recall their names.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Nation, born 1940
Trade Canoe for the North Pole, 2017
Acrylic, collage, oil crayon, charcoal on canvas

Mary Kawennakie Adams, Akwesasne Mohawk, Wolf clan, 1917 - 1999
Basket 1985, Sweet grass

Close up of sweet grass basket.

Kay WalkingStick, Cherokee, born 1935
Verere Alpian, 1997
Oil on canvas, (left), steal mesh over acrylic, saponified wax and plastic stones (right)

Hupa artist
Dance skirt, 1875
Deer hide, glass beads, abalone, maidenhair fern, bear grass, trade beads, cloth ties (added at a later date

Dakhota and/or Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) artist
Dance blanket, 1840-1850 (Close up)
Wool, silk, beads, needlework

This was a dark blanket.  The images in the blanket are reflections of humans at the exhibit and other art that is near by.

Nora Naranjo Morse, Santa Clara Pueblo, born 1953
Our Homes, Ourselves, 1999
Clay and paint

 Seminole artist
Woman's patchwork cape, skirt and stacking necklaces. c. 1920
Cotton, thread, rickrack, (cape and skirt); glass beads, plastic, thread, wood, silver, cotton (necklace)

 Joan Hill, Muskogee Creek and Cherokee, born 1930
Women's Voices at the Council, 1990
Acrylic on canvas

Innu (Naskapi) artist
Huntig coat, c. 1750
Caribou hide, pigment

Christi Belcourt, Michif (Metis) born 1966

The Wisdom of the Universe, 2014 

Acrylic on canvas

 Close up of The Wisdom of the Universe

  Close up of The Wisdom of the Universe

 Close up of The Wisdom of the Universe

Here is the artist statement about Wisdom of the Universe reprinted from Art Matters:

In Ontario, over 200 species of plants and animals are listed as threatened, endangered or extinct. Of those, included in this painting are the Dwarf Lake Iris, the Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid, the Karner Blue butterfly, the West Virginia White butterfly, the Spring Blue-eyed Mary, the Cerulean Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher.

Globally, we live in a time of great upheaval. The state of the world is in crisis. We are witness to the unbearable suffering of species, including humans. Much of this we do to ourselves. It is possible for the planet to return to a state of well-being, but it requires a radical change in our thinking. It requires a willingness to be open to the idea that perhaps human beings have got it all wrong.
All species, the lands, the waters are one beating organism that pulses like a heart. We are all a part of a whole. The animals and plants, lands and waters, are our relatives each with as much right to exist as we have. When we see ourselves as separate from each other and think of other species, the waters and the planet itself as objects that can be owned, dominated or subjugated, we lose connection with our humanity and we create imbalance on the earth. This is what we are witnessing around us.
The planet already contains all the wisdom of the universe, as do you and I. It has the ability to recover built into its DNA and we have the ability to change what we are doing so this can happen.

Perhaps it’s time to place the rights of Mother Earth ahead of the rights to Mother Earth.

– Christi Belcourt

This show is presented by Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.  This show closed on Sunday, August 18, 2019. It celebrated Native women artists and honors over 115 artists from the USA and Canada spanning 1000 years.  Breeze on my Skin has only shown a portion of the amazing art including pottery, textiles, painting, photography, clay, a gleaming El Camino. 

Please add your comments to what you see below.  And watch for Heart of Our People, Native Women Artists to come to a city near you.

Hearts of Our People Native Women Artists

    Christi Belcourt, Wisdom of the Universe, 2014 Acrylic on canvas

The Minneapolis Institute of Art, MIA, is showing  a ground breaking exhibit of Native women artists work from a multi-generational perspective.  The art and culture of Native peoples have been shared through the generations of women.  Many have not had the recognition that they deserved.  This exhibit is giving voice to Native women artists.  This exhibit will travel nationally and give voice to Native women's art.

 Lou-Ann Neel, Childhood, 2013, a photo mosaic of 3,000 images of children from boarding schools

 Detail of "Childhood,"  Lou-Ann Neel

This photo mosaic by Lou-Ann Neel  of 3000 images of  Native children forced into boarding schools to become assimilated into White Culture in the 20th Century.  The children were not recorded by name. Lou-Ann was one of those children.  Her images "represent the dispossessed.  Generation after generation lined up, row after row, mimicking the same impersonal blue print of the residential school building and each dorm room."  Minnesota Women's Press by Mikki Morrissette

The image that she, Neel, created was a image of her nephew, Daniel in full regalia for his naming ceremony when he was a young boy.  She wants Native children to know that they are loved and they belong and are acknowledged in their families and their culture.

Remember
Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star's stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun's birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away of night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath.  You are evidence of
her life, and her mother's and hers.
Remember you father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language come from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.

Joy Harjo, (Muscogee/Cherokee, b. 1951)

This powerful and beautiful exhibit, "Heart's of Our People,"  is at the MIA through Sunday, August 18, 2019.

Bus Stop People

At the Minnesota Quilt Show 2019 in Rochester, Minnesota, a unique display of fiber people at the bus stop was created by Carol Hancuh. She captured a wide slice of humanity waiting for the bus.

Bridge Shadows

 Shadows on the bridge in Winona, Minnesota

 A shadow that makes me look pregnant; no so.  That's a by gone day. That's ok.

 A set of three lovely sayings for inspiration.  Have a lovely day.

Greetings from Winona, Minnesota.  It's a lovely place.  Come visit sometime.

Lake Superior

Looking at Lake Superior out onto Artist's Point, Grand Marias, Minnesota.  A bit of fog in the  morning light.

   Taking a closer look that same morning.

   Sea gulls on shore

A solo gull

    The bay at Grand Marias

  
   Lots of sky and water

    Clouds and light

    Sheets of energy in the form of light

    The day is full of promise.  What will it bring?  What are your hopes and dreams?

Impressions of Prince

Cherrywood is a Minnesota company that creates hand dyed fabrics and they put on this Prince Challenge in 2018.  It was displayed at the Rochester Quilt Show and Conference in June 2019.  Here's a quote from Cherrywood's website:

"We apply our privately designed line of colors to high quality fabrics to offer you the best product for your creative needs. The hand dyeing process we’ve perfected over our 30+ years produces a beautiful tone-on-tone texture that reads as a solid, but has depth and variety that will never be replicated by mass-production. Cherrywood is proudly made in the U.S.A. by women who sew, create and dye a little every day." Go to Cherrywood to find out more or order fabrics today.

Twenty facts you may not know about Prince.

River Walks

 It's a little windy on this walk.

We have a wonderful boathouse community that lives on the Mississippi River.  Many live here all  year round.

The river has been very high with all the the snow and rains of the spring.  The earth is still so saturated.

Usually there is land between the tree and the chairs--a bit more than that little strip of sand.

 The wagon bridge

In previous years we could walk under the bridge and come out on land on the other side.  Now it is still filled with water.

When the water goes down a bit more, we'll go paddling our kayaks all around this area. For now I'm happy to walk over here and check out how the water and plants are doing.