Celebrating Native Heritage Month!
November 8 through December 29, 2017
Reception: Friday, November 10 5pm-7pm. Live Music by Eddie Lee Kidd, Artist Talk, Light Refreshments.
Gallery show which celebrates Native Heritage (for the month of November) and contains works from the Center’s permanent collection and the works of Patricia Columbus-Powers, Brian Dow, Ann Dunn, Shane Hawley, Sarah LIttleredfeather, and Sharon Nordrum.
See jewelry by Minneapolis-St Paul-based artist, Patricia Columbus-Powers.
Brian Dow
Anne M. Dunn is an Ojibwe author and storyteller who lives in Cass Lake, Minnesota. While an artist in residence at the Cultural Center, she created a stitchwork piece which is part of this exhibit.
Shane Andrew Hawley was born in 1982 in North Dakota. He is currently a visual artist, an intern with the American Institute of Architects, and a teacher’s assistent in Architechtural Theory at North Dakota State University in Fargo.
Votan & Sarah Littleredfeather
Sarah Littleredfeather has created photocollages capturing a mural in Duluth, MN. This huge painting is by Votan, an indigenous artist. The Water Protector is an Anishinaabe woman, who is looking over the greatest of the lakes–Gichi Gummi. With prayer and the power of the Natural world, she is facing the greed of the Wiindigo, the fossil fuel industry, mining and lumber barons. She is powerful.
From Votan, “America suffers from historical amnesia. People seeking freedom arrived on these shores over 500 years ago. It is unfortunate that in the pursuit of theirs, we were to lose ours. One of the current issues, is oil. We are wise enough to see the effect of its intoxicating consumption. Besides pollution, the devastating effects it has in native communities is ignored. This mural brings this tiny fragment of an idea and puts it on a large platform. Women and children in our communities are being abducted, sold, raped and murdered for the pleasure of workers in this industry. If we address the problem, we can create solutions. Renewable energy, education and empowerment are vital. Let’s change the beaten path of history.”
Wabigagagiwikwebek (White Raven Woman) / Sharon Nordrum
While her English name is Sharon Nordrum, she signs her artwork with her Ojibwe name, Wabigagagiwikwebek (White Raven Woman). She started painting in 2012, when the Nation’s recession hit the small town of Bemidji and the retail store she had worked in shut off the lights and closed its doors. She needed to find a new way to support herself in an ever shrinking economy so she turned to the paintbrush. Signs greeting visitors are commonplace in American homes. “Welcome” signs are readily avialable in any retail outlet, but where could an Ojibwe person purchase an “Aaniin,” “Boozhoo” or “Biindigan” sign for their home? Promoting upcycling, Wabigagagiwikwebek used old barn boards from a chicken coop to paint signs in the Ojibwe language. Selling her first few on Facebook, and completely selling out at the Leech Lake Tribal College Pow Wow inspired her to continue painting and take special orders. She continues to paint Ojibwe signs, but now also works with fiber arts, Ojibwe basketry, ceramics, and woodcarving. She also makes original necklaces, keychains, wind chimes, and sun catchers from diamond willow. Her inspiration comes from her dreams, her Ojibwe heritage, language, and stories and the natural world. Her work is filled with traditional Ojibwe sybolism. She has sold her work throughout North America and has painted commisioned murals for Bemidji State University, Cass Lake & Bena School Districts, and Red Lake Transit. She has also painted a collection for the Leech Lake Tribal College.
