Category: Arts & Entertainment

Adam Sandler on ‘Ridiculous Six’ Tension With Native American Actors: “Just a Misunderstanding”

Adam SandlerAP Images/Invision
Adam Sandler
AP Images/Invision

About a dozen Native American extras walked off the film’s set in April, criticizing passages in the script as offensive.

by The Associated Press

Adam Sandler feels that when audiences finally see his upcoming Netflix comedy, The Ridiculous Six, they will realize he wasn’t trying to offend anyone.

The spoof takes its name from the Western classic The Magnificent Seven and pokes fun at the genre. But not everyone found it funny.

Earlier this year, a group of Native American actors walked off the New Mexico film set over complaints that content in the film was offensive to their culture. The actors objected over the vile names of some of the characters, as well as a Native American woman urinating while smoking a peace pipe.

“It was just a misunderstanding and once the movie is out will be cleared up,” Sandler told theAssociated Press on Saturday on the red carpet for the world premiere of his new film, Pixels.

Sandler called The Ridiculous Six 100 percent pro-American Indian.

Indigenous Futures: keeping the past alive

Four-side drum.Photo courtesy of Joe Seymour
Four-side drum.
Photo courtesy of Joe Seymour

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News Photo courtesy of Joe Seymour

Recently, the Seattle Art Museum presented PechaKucha Seattle volume 63, titled “Indigenous Futures.” PechaKuchas are informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and present their ideas, works, thoughts – just about anything, really – in fun, relaxed spaces that foster an environment of learning and understanding. It would be easy to think PechaKuchas are all about the presenters and their presentation, but there is something deeper and a more important subtext to each of these events. They are all about togetherness, about coming together as a community to reveal and celebrate the richness and dimension contained within each one of us. They are about fostering a community through encouragement, friendship and celebration.

The origins of PechaKucha Nights stem from Tokyo, Japan and have since gone global; they are now happening in over 700 cities around the world. What made PechaKucha Night Seattle volume 63 so special was that it was comprised of all Native artists, writers, producers, performers, and activists presenting on their areas of expertise and exploring the realm of Native ingenuity in all its forms, hence the name Indigenous Futures.

Joe Seymour, a member of the Squaxin Island Tribe, is geoduck harvester and a leader of his canoe family, but most importantly he is a Coast Salish artist who works with a vast array of mediums. He has demonstrated his artistic touch with blown glass, etched glass, prints, wood, Salish wool weaving, canvas and traditional rawhide drums. His ancestral name, wahalatsu?, was given to him by his family in 2003. Wahalatsu? was the name of his great-grandfather William Bagley.

 

Faith, Wisdom and Strength. Photo courtesy of Joe Seymour
Faith, Wisdom and Strength.
Photo courtesy of Joe Seymour

 

Seymour started his artistic career by carving his first paddle for the 2003 Tribal Journey to Tulalip. Also, in 2003, he carved his first bentwood box. After the Tulalip journey, he really began to focus on his artistic abilities he found were coming so natural him. After learning how to stretch and make traditional rawhide drums, Seymour pushed his creative limits even further by learning how to pull a four-sided drum. The inspiration for learning the four-sided drum method came from his uncle Phil and the late Makah hereditary chief, Lester Hamilton Greene.

“One of the reasons I wanted to work with so many mediums is that all of them together encompass what Coast Salish culture is to me,” explains Seymour of his diversity of art mediums. “We talk about indigenous futures and right now I’m focused on taking the Coast Salish culture into the future by keeping its past alive. I do this by bringing it into the modern world by my weaving, by my drawing, by my painting…I do that with the paddles that I carve.

There aren’t many people who can pull a four-sided drum. I’ve only seen maybe three other people who can do it. If you ever want to learn or know someone who wants to learn, please let me know as I’m more than willing to share our cultural knowledge. Artistic methods are a critical part of our culture and I believe they should be shared willingly, not just held hostage by any single individual.”

 

Photo courtesy of Joe Seymour
Photo courtesy of Joe Seymour

 

Since discovering his inner artist by way of the 2003 Tribal Journey to Tulalip, Seymour has gone on to participate in the international gathering of Indigenous Artists, PIKO 2007, in Hawaii, and he also participated in the Te Tihi, 4th Gathering of Indigenous Visual Artists, in Rotorua, New Zealand, in 2010.

“It’s an honor to have the opportunities to travel the world and meet fellow indigenous; to see and share our cultures via artistic expression,” says Seymour. “The indigenous future of the peoples in the Pacific Northwest is very bright. We have such a wonderful array of spirit, tradition, and pride.

In my career, I’ve worked with glass, photography, Salish wool weaving, prints, wood, and rawhide drums. I’ve been very fortunate to have a community of artists that I’m able to work with and who are very supportive of my career. If it were not for their caring and sharing of ideas, I would not be the artist that I am today. I hope that as I continue in my artistic career, I can pass on the teachings and nurturing spirit that have been shown to me.”

Siblings. Photo courtesy of Joe Seymour
Siblings.
Photo courtesy of Joe Seymour

 

Indigenous Futures: Mixing Pop-Culture with Native American design

 

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

Steer Clear. Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge
Steer Clear.
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge

Recently, the Seattle Art Museum presented PechaKucha Seattle volume 63, titled Indigenous Futures. PechaKuchas are informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and present their ideas, works, thoughts – just about anything, really – in fun, relaxed spaces that foster an environment of learning and understanding. It would be easy to think PechaKuchas are all about the presenters and their presentation, but there is something deeper and a more important subtext to each of these events. They are all about togetherness, about coming together as a community to reveal and celebrate the richness and dimension contained within each one of us. They are about fostering a community through encouragement, friendship and celebration.

The origins of PechaKucha Nights stem from Tokyo, Japan and have since gone global; they are now happening in over 700 cities around the world. What made PechaKucha Night Seattle volume 63 so special was that it was comprised of all Native artists, writers, producers, performers, and activists presenting on their areas of expertise and exploring the realm of Native ingenuity in all its forms, hence the name Indigenous Futures.

 

Star Wars.photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge
Star Wars.
photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge

 

Jeffrey Veregge is an award winning Native American comic book artist from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe in Kingston, Washington. His work uses Coastal Salish and contemporary graphic design techniques that created the look dubbed ‘Salish Geek’ by his creative peers. Along with his work for IDW Publishing, he has appeared in numerous websites and publications such as Fast Company Magazine, Cowboys and Indians, and Wired Magazine. His works and commissions are part of some prestigious collections located at Yale University, Washington State University, The Burke Museum and the Seattle Art Museum. He’s also the pop and nerd culture contributor for Indian Country Today Media, where he is known as NDN Geek.

“A member of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, I was raised and spent a majority of my life on our reservation known locally as Little Boston, which is located near Kingston, Washington. Although I am enrolled there, I am also both of Suquamish and Duwamish ancestry,” says Veregge. “I am an honor graduate from the Art Institute of Seattle, and I have had the privilege to study with Tsimshian master carver David Boxley for a short time learning the basics of Salish form-line design.

“For the past 10 years I have been employed as Lead Designer/Studio Manager for a media agency that specializes in non-profits. My work is a reflection of a lifetime love affair with comic books, toys, TV and film; taking my passions and blending them with my Native perspective.”

Veregge has been an artist since the moment he was able to hold his first action figure and create stories of his childhood superheroes on paper with whatever art utensils were available. That creative fire and passion for superheroes and comics never faded and eventually led him to the Seattle Art Institute where he studied industrial design technology. Later, he was fortunate to study with Boxley to learn the basics of Salish form line design, a traditional style that influenced the superhero comics yet to come.

After graduating from the Seattle Art Institute, Veregge had a great job at an advertising agency for eleven years. Working in advertising allowed him to tap into his creative side, but the Native artist within wasn’t satisfied, he needed something more. He went to art school to be an artist and to have fun, not to have his inner artist constrained by the everyday politics of advertising. Being an artist wasn’t just to sell art and make money for Veregge, it meant having fun, it meant viewing a blank piece of paper as a magical canvas to express the imagination of a cluttered mind of a Native American who loves comics, movies, Sci-Fi, and action figures. So he left the advertising agency and embarked on an artist’s mission to create something truly unique. The search for a new, personal and bold direction in his work resulted in Veregge creating Native Superhero comics

 

Visit Seattle. photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge
Visit Seattle.
photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge

 

“For me it wasn’t just trying to create art as a geek or nerd, but as a Native I felt like I had something unique to offer,” Veregge says. “That’s my appreciation for all art and design, my passion for heroes, robots, aliens and monsters, and my pride in where I came from.

“My origins are not supernatural, nor have they been enhanced by radioactive spiders. I am simply a Native American artist and writer whose creative mantra in best summed up with a word from my tribe’s own language: ‘taʔčaʔx̣ʷéʔtəŋ’, which means ‘get into trouble’.”

Creating Native Superhero comics and the website jeffreyveregge.com is a reflection of a lifetime love affair with comic books, toys, TV and film. Taking his passions and blending them with his Native perspective, artistic background and the desire to simply be true to himself. The work he creates now takes who he is as a Native person, his love for graphic art and design, and his passions and blends them all together into a new art form that he loves and has fun creating.

“Basically I am just trying to have fun and get back to that kid that went to art school to begin with, wanting to create artwork that I want to see and make just for the hell of it,” describes Veregge of the bold new art he creates today. “There is a time and place for preserving the old ways, the traditions, but then there is the call for all artists to push the limits, find new ways to say things, and new stories to tell.”

12th. photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge
12th.
photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge
Transformers. photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge
Transformers.
photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge

 

photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge
photo courtesy of Jeffrey Veregge

 

 

Contact Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Surdna Foundation Grant Awarded to Northwest Artist Matika Wilbur

Matika Wilbur grant

 

Source: Tacoma Art Museum

 

Tacoma, WA – Seattle-area photographer Matika Wilbur, Swinomish and Tulalip, in collaboration with Tacoma Art Museum, has been awarded a 2015 Artists Engaging in Social Change grant from Surdna Foundation. The foundation received more than 1000 grant applications, and Wilbur is one of just 15 artists awarded through the program, receiving a grant of $157,000 (the largest award). The grant will support Wilbur’s Project 562, a nation-wide endeavor documenting contemporary Native American culture through photographic portraits and narratives from each federally recognized Native American tribe. Project 562 is the basis for compelling exhibitions, presentations, articles, books, and curricula that creatively surmount stereotypical representations, historical inaccuracies, and the absence of Native American images and voices in mass media and the national consciousness. 

The inaugural exhibition of Project 562 debuted in spring, 2014, at Tacoma Art Museum, receiving rave reviews from museum visitors and in regional and national press. More than 18,000 visitors saw the exhibition. TAM served as Wilbur’s fiscal sponsor, which enabled her to participate in the highly competitive grant program. 

Wilbur’s beautifully rendered portraits and stirring recordings from select sitters examine the Indian image across socioeconomic and intergenerational spectrums, from tribal to hardcore urban, traditional elders to assimilated teens, conveying the diversity among Native communities and individual experiences. Her provocative work exposes the strength and richness of contemporary Native life, and is profoundly shifting consciousness toward Native Americans. The project conveys the cultural diversity among Native communities and individual experiences.

The Surdna Foundation grant is an affirmation of the power of Wilbur’s work. “I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the Surdna Foundation’s support,” Wilbur said. “Their contribution will fundamentally improve our team’s efficiency and dramatically increase public access of Project 562. For hundreds of years, our ancestors have been calling for authentic stories of our people to be told. I believe that Project 562 is being guided and protected by our ancestors, and we raise our hands to the Surdna Foundation as a source of strength and for believing in our mission to change the way we see Native America.”

To date, Wilbur has driven over 150,000 miles across the United States and visited about 300 of the 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States. She has been welcomed into rare experiences and allowed images, voices, and ideas that have never before been represented. 

Rock Hushka, TAM’s Chief Curator, affirms Wilbur’s role as an inspired and unprecedented messenger: “We are grateful to Surdna Foundation for recognizing the quality and power of Matika’s work with this grant award. She has a rare combination of immense creativity, tenacity, and tremendous sensitivity. Project 562 provides crucial cultural understanding, capturing with unparalleled clarity the vibrancy of contemporary culture along with political and social issues of primary concern to Native Americans across the nation. We look forward to a continued relationship with this remarkable artist and future iterations of Project 562.” 

Surdna Foundation’s Artists Engaging in Social Change grants are designed to support individual artists, culture bearers, and nonprofit organizations whose work helps to inform, engage, or challenge people around specific social issues. Projects receiving funds were selected for the quality of the artistic practice and dedication to exploring critical themes that arise from, or impact a community; and for the project’s capacity to enable social change.

Surdna Foundation’s President Phil Henderson commented, “In an era of accelerated and often dramatic social and demographic change, artists and culture bearers play critical roles within our communities helping us understand and challenge pressing issues. Their visions, communicated through film, performance, text, spoken word and other forms can help communities achieve a sense of connectedness and common purpose.”

Image Credit: Matika Wilbur, Mary Evelyn Belgarde (Pueblo of Isleta and Ohkay Owingeh), 2014. Digital silver image, 16 x 20 inches. Courtesy of the artist.

 

 

 

About The Surdna Foundation
The Surdna Foundation seeks to foster sustainable communities in the United States — communities guided by principles of social justice and distinguished by healthy environments, strong local economies, and thriving cultures. For over five generations, the Foundation has been governed largely by descendants of John Andrus and has developed a tradition of innovative service for those in need of help or opportunity.  The Foundation’s support arts and cultural projects through its Thriving Cultures grantmaking program which is based on a belief that communities with robust arts and culture are more cohesive and prosperous, and benefit from the diversity of their residents. Surdna believes that artists and cultural organizations can help us explore shared values and spark innovation, imagination and advancement for our communities.
Contact: George Soule, Director of Communications, Surdna Foundation
212.557.0010, gsoule@surdna.org, www.surdna.org

 

Artist Matika Wilbur: 
e: m@matikawilbur.com
w: www.matikawilbur.com
w: www.project562.com

 

About Tacoma Art Museum
Celebrating 80 years, Tacoma Art Museum has become an anchor in the city’s downtown and a gathering space for connecting people through art. TAM’s collection contains more than 4,500 works, with an emphasis on the art and artists of the Northwest and broader American west. The collection includes the world’s largest retrospective museum collection of glass art by Tacoma native Dale Chihuly on continued view; the world’s largest collection of jewelry by Northwest artists; key holdings in 19th century European and 20th century American art; and one of the finest collections of Japanese woodblock prints on the West Coast. TAM recently welcomed a gift of 295 works of Western American art in the Haub Family Collection, one of the premier collections in the nation and the first major western American art museum collection in the Northwest. 
HOURS – Tuesdays–Sundays 10 am–5 pm. 
ADMISSION – Adult $14; Student (6-17), Military, Senior (65+) $12; Family $35 (2 adults and up to 4 children under 18). 
Children 5 and under free. Third Thursdays free from 5–8 pm. Members always free.
CONTACT – 253-272-4258, http://www.TacomaArtMuseum.org

Feds accuse Missouri man of posing as Indian to sell art

Whetstone 3

By Tony Rizzo, The Kansas City Star

The tradition of Native American art is as rich and varied as the many tribes of North America.

And many collectors and aficionados willingly pay premium prices for it.

But that also makes buyers susceptible to counterfeiters — people willing to risk violating the federal law that prohibits non-Indian artists from marketing their creations as the handiwork of an Indian.

According to federal prosecutors, an Odessa, Mo., man did just that by falsely portraying himself as a Cherokee artist while selling his artwork online.

Federal prosecutors in Kansas City recently charged Terry Lee Whetstone, 62, with misrepresentation of Indian-produced goods and products, a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to a year imprisonment.

Neither Whetstone nor his lawyer responded to requests for comment, and he is not a member of the federally recognized Cherokee Nation, according to records of the Oklahoma-based tribe.

But he is an enrolled member of the Northern Cherokee Nation, according to Chief Kenn Grey Elk.

And while that nation is not federally recognized, it is officially recognized by the state of Missouri, according to Grey Elk.

That, according to Grey Elk, would qualify Whetstone as an Indian under federal law.

Federal prosecutors declined to comment about the charges beyond the information contained in court documents.

Whetstone’s website no longer functions. But for more than a decade, it cited his Cherokee heritage in advertising his music, painting, sculptures and jewelry.

He was raised in suburban Kansas City, according to his online biography, and performed flute music at numerous events around Kansas City. For years, his website claimed that his artwork could be found in many galleries and private collections — and even at The Smithsonian museum gift shop in Washington, D.C.

Whetstone 2

Federal prosecutors in Kansas City said they could not recall a similar case being filed in recent memory under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.

But the phenomenon is enough of a problem nationwide that a special board under the auspices of the U.S. Department of the Interior has monitored the art world since 1935 to ensure that art marketed as Indian is authentic.

“While the beauty, quality, and collectability of authentic Indian art and craftwork make each piece a unique reflection of our American heritage, it is important that buyers be aware that fraudulent Indian art and craftwork competes daily with authentic Indian art and craftwork in the nationwide marketplace,” the Indian Arts and Crafts Board states on its website.

Federal law does not prevent non-Indians from producing Indian-style artwork. But only a member of an officially recognized Indian tribe, or a person certified as an Indian artist by a tribe, is allowed to market products as Indian-produced.

The law covers a variety of traditional and contemporary arts and crafts.

According to the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, items frequently copied by non-Indians include jewelry, pottery, baskets, carvings, rugs, Kachina dolls and clothing.

“These counterfeits undermine the market for authentic Indian art and craftwork and severely undercut Indian economies, self-determination, cultural heritage and the future of an original American treasure,” according to the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.

For legitimate Native American artists, the law is an important way to protect their cultural identity and livelihoods.

Counterfeiters “are appropriating a culture that’s not theirs,” said George Levi, an Oklahoma artist of Cheyenne-Arapaho descent.

Levi likened the crime to people who profit from counterfeiting the work of big-name fashion designers. Every piece of artwork sold as authentic by a non-Indian takes money away from a legitimate Indian artist, he said.

“They’re just trying to make a buck off of us,” Levi said.

The court documents filed in Whetstone’s case do not specify what type of artwork he sold.

But cached versions of the website listed in court documents featured his Indian-themed paintings and music. The site also showed pictures of Whetstone playing a flute and described him as a “self-taught, talented American Indian flute performer and multi-faceted artist.”

It said that he “reflects the history of his Cherokee heritage in his music and art.”

Last year, he received an award from the Indie Music Channel. In an award ceremony YouTube video, he identifies himself as “mixed-blood Cherokee.”

Whetstone listed his race as white on a 1997 Jackson County marriage license application that gave the option of marking white, black, American Indian or other.

For purposes of complying with the Indian art law, the artist must be an enrolled member of a tribe officially recognized by the federal government or a state. It is unclear whether Grey Elk’s assertion that Whetstone is a member with the Northern Cherokee Nation will have any impact on the federal case.

A person can be certified as a nonmember artist if they are “of Indian lineage of one or more members of a particular tribe,” and they have written authorization from the tribe’s governing body.

The Cherokee Nation carefully authenticates the tribal status of all artists whose work is displayed in galleries and gift shops, said Donna Tinnin, community tourism manager for the tribe.

Ensuring artwork’s authenticity is important for educating people about the specific traditions and history of each tribe, Tinnin said.

“Each tribe has their own story and their own styles of artwork,” she said.

Johnny Learned, president of the American Indian Center of the Great Plains, said he was glad to see the federal government taking action.

Learned said he finds it “interesting” that more people seemed to claim to be Indians as economic opportunities such as casinos expanded for Native Americans.

“I think there should be even more stringent rules that prohibit that,” he said.

To reach Tony Rizzo, call 816-234-4435 or send email to trizzo@kcstar.com.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article25737253.html#storylink=cpy

Northwest’s first citizens develop tribal tourism

Kwani Williams, who is Tulalip and Lummi, leads a tour at the Tulalip... (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times)
Kwani Williams, who is Tulalip and Lummi, leads a tour at the Tulalip… (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times)
By  Brian J. Cantwell, Seattle Times

Where else could I get an authentic Indian fry-bread taco, geoduck chowder and a Northwest native dogwood to plant in the yard, all in one stop?

This was a May visit to a garden sale and open house at the Kitsap Peninsula’s newly restored Heronswood Garden, now a property of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe.

There I learned about cedar weaving and got a look at a copy of the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855, the watershed document that ceded Puget Sound-area lands to white settlers and changed native lives forever.

On another day trip, friends and I enjoyed a Skagit County hike at Kiket Island State Park — aka Kukutali Preserve (bit.ly/1ILiT2n) — where we lolled on driftwood while overlooking a panorama of rippling waters, rocky islets and the Deception Pass Bridge’s soaring arch. It’s the nation’s first state park jointly owned and managed with a native tribe, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, which still harvests shellfish from its tidelands.

Each experience illustrated how Northwest tribes are raising their profile — economically, culturally and recreationally — in ways that anyone can sample on a weekend road trip. It’s not just casinos anymore.

Branching out

Tribes that have raked in millions from casinos in the past two decades are looking to diversify investments and broaden their message. Even by owning a garden.

“The tribe’s development officer wanted to consider things beyond fireworks, cigarettes and cheap liquor,” says Dan Hinkley, Heronswood Garden’s co-founder, now the garden’s director for the Port Gamble S’Klallam community.

Through its 1990s heyday, Heronswood became world-famous among what you might call the “plantie” set — the botanical counterpoint to foodies. Garden devotees called themselves “Heronistas.”

Tucked among woods off the road to Point No Point, near Kingston in Kitsap County, Heronswood featured exotic plants that Hinkley collected on safaris all over the planet.

In 2000, W. Atlee Burpee & Co., of the famed seed catalog, bought Heronswood. Within a year, Burpee filed for Chapter 11. In 2006 they shut the garden, which languished until the tribe purchased the neglected 15-acre site at auction, for seven figures, in 2012.

 After many months of restoration, the garden now opens four times a year for public visits and plant sales (next opening July 25) and twice monthly for volunteer days (heronswoodgarden.org).

The acquisition made sense for the tribe, whose reservation borders the garden. To Tribal Chairman Jeromy Sullivan — a geoduck diver in his day job — Heronswood’s preservation goes hand in garden glove with his tribe’s interest in preserving waterways, shellfish and forests.

The garden’s stature in the botanical world has made its rescue a noble undertaking, and that hasn’t hurt the tribe’s public image.

“The notoriety this has brought around the community has helped the tribe a great deal — everyone has really come together,” Sullivan says. “We have relied on gaming and, like other tribes, we really need to branch out.”

With planned improvements, the garden can be a venue for weddings and events, he says.

Art in the garden will reflect tribal culture, Hinkley says. In March, they dedicated a totem pole at the garden entrance. Carved by tribal member Brian Perry, whose Indian name is Hopi-Cheelth, one side features the garden’s animal symbols, a heron and a frog.

 “My hope — just my own thought — is that ultimately a totem park would be fantastic,” Hinkley says.

During the recent garden sale, tribal members sold food and helped direct traffic. Tribal member Lloyd Fulton, wearing his U.S. Navy veteran hat from Korea, offered for sale his traditional carvings, such as a halibut-themed bowl of red cedar. His take on owning the garden?

“I think it’s wonderful, it puts people to work, and they have good crowds coming out when they open it like this,” he says.

Telling tribal stories

Washington’s Makah and Yakama tribes have long been known for outstanding museums. Now, casino revenue is helping more tribes tell their stories:

• The Tulalip Tribes’ (Snoho­mish, Snoqualmie and Skyko­mish) 23,000-square-foot Hibulb Cultural Center, near Marysville, opened in 2011 and last year welcomed more than 10,000 visitors — many of them school children on field trips from around the region. They learned about the comforts of communal longhouses and salmon feasts, and the miseries of government-boarding schools that once separated tribal children from their families and culture (hibulb­culturalcenter.org).

• Near Shelton, Mason County, the Squaxin Island Tribe museum’s Hall of the Seven Inlets depicts watersheds of South Puget Sound with tribal legends, photographs, art and history (squaxinislandmuseum.org).

• Near Poulsbo, Kitsap County, the Suquamish, Chief Seattle’s people, in 2012 replaced an old museum with a modern, $6-million stained-wood building designed by Mithun Architects and showcasing exhibits themed by Seattle’s Storyline Studio (suquamishmuseum.org). Among treasures: a carved canoe used in the 1989 Paddle to Seattle, the first of a modern-day series of culture-affirming intertribal canoe journeys around the Salish Sea.

Canoes carry culture

With newfound tribal wealth supporting them, canoe journeys became an annual event involving hundreds of paddlers from tribal nations across the region, catapulting native culture into the spotlight each summer.

So-called “canoe families” — paddlers, their kin and support crew — travel for up to three weeks to a host tribe’s community. They visit indigenous nations along the way to share languages, songs, dances and traditional foods. Once all canoes arrive at their destination, a joyous weeklong public celebration ensues.

It’s come to mean an investment of at least $1 million by the host nation. When the Swinomish hosted in 2011, they built a plaza with three pavilions shaped like traditional woven-cedar hats, creating a distinctive landmark on La Conner’s waterfront.

In 2015, for the first year since 1993, no tribe stepped forward to host a canoe journey; in 2016, the Nisquallys will host. But tribes have a full slate of canoe races through the summer (see swinomish.org/calendar.aspx). And the Swinomish, Samish, Puyallup, Chehalis and Nisqually canoe families earlier this month gave on-water demonstrations — including wave-bucking rides for brave kids and white-knuckled soccer moms — along with storytelling, drumming and more at Deception Pass and Millersylvania state parks. It was part of Washington State Parks’ annual Folk & Traditional Arts in the Parks program.

Partners in message

Tribes are partnering with other entities, as well, on projects that convey culture:

• Washington tribes donated much of the $6 million that supplemented $3 million from the state Legislature to build a longhouse-style center that opened in March at the University of Washington.

The Intellectual House (with a Lushootsheed name that is phonetically pronounced “wah-sheb-altuh”) serves as a cultural link for Native American students and will host research symposia and other events (bit.ly/1c7VUQa).

• Construction is under way this summer in southern Pierce County to develop Nisqually State Park, a joint effort of the state and the Nisqually Tribe, at the birthplace of Chief Leschi and the site of an 1856 massacre of an Indian village. The park plan includes a “People’s Center” to interpret the conflict and reconciliation between Indians and settlers (parks.wa.gov/336/Nisqually).

• Once the Alaskan Way Viaduct comes down, Coast Salish-style artwork will be a centerpiece of Seattle’s new waterfront. The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture in March awarded a $250,000 commission to Puyallup tribal member Shaun Peterson (Indian name: Qwalsius) for a major installation.

Culture on the hoof

Almost anywhere tribes invest, their culture gets a showcase.

Good example: The Muckleshoot Tribe celebrated its March acquisition of Auburn’s Emerald Downs racetrackby hosting last weekend’s Battle of the Horse Nations, traditional Indian relay races that brought “horse tribes” from across the West to compete for three days in a colorful spectacle of traditional garb and wild gallops.

Track president Phil Ziegler says Auburn will likely be an annual stop for the relay races, described as “America’s first extreme sport.”

Even shopping can be a cultural experience, of a sort. Go looking for camo gear at Cabela’s, in the Tulalips’ Quil Ceda Village (quilcedavillage.com), and native sculpture greets you inside the door. Need a designer suit? Toddle up the road to the region’s toniest outlet mall, Seattle Premium Outlets, also on tribal land. Hungry? Stop next door at Panera Bread, opened in December, for an Asiago Cheese Focaccia.

Not only are Northwest tribes reaching beyond casinos, some are diversifying beyond fry bread. But few are forgetting their roots.

 

 

Tribes’ hotels show off their art

A growing number of tribally owned hotels showcase tribal art in lobbies and lounges. Not all are connected to casinos:

• The Suquamish Tribe’s Clearwater Casino Resort in May opened a new $30 million, 98-room hotel wing, added to an existing 85-room hotel that draws some guests who come simply for the view of soaring eagles over Kitsap County’s glistening Agate Passage — and a notable collection of tribal carvings, glass sculpture, weavings and paintings; clearwater­-casino.com.

• At the Tulalip Resort Hotel, next to the tribes’ big Vegas-like casino near Marysville, the lobby’s three massive carved-cedar “story poles” — representing storytelling, game-playing and welcome — set the tone; tulalip-­­resortcasino.com/Resort.

• At Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor County, the Quinault Tribe in February converted the oceanfront Ramada Inn to the Quinault Sweet Grass Hotel, which has no gambling. The Ramada’s previous owner was the Swinomish Tribe; sweetgrasshotel.com.

• A carved hummingbird design at the reception desk is a cultural symbol of hospitality at the Stillaguamish Tribe’s $27 million Angel of the Winds Casino Hotel, which opened near Arlington, Snohomish County, at the end of 2014; angelofthewinds.com/hotel.

Indigenous Futures: Indian Heritage Murals

Mural_3
Photo courtesy Andrew Morrison

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

Recently, the Seattle Art Museum presented PechaKucha Seattle volume 63, titled Indigenous Futures. PechaKuchas are informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and present their ideas, works, thoughts – just about anything, really – in fun, relaxed spaces that foster an environment of learning and understanding. It would be easy to think PechaKuchas are all about the presenters and their presentation, but there is something deeper and a more important subtext to each of these events. They are all about togetherness, about coming together as a community to reveal and celebrate the richness and dimension contained within each one of us. They are about fostering a community through encouragement, friendship and celebration.

The origins of PechaKucha Nights stem from Tokyo, Japan and have since gone global; they are now happening in over 700 cities around the world. What made PechaKucha Night Seattle volume 63 so special was that it was comprised of all Native artists, writers, producers, performers, and activists presenting on their areas of expertise and exploring the realm of Native ingenuity in all its forms, hence the name Indigenous Futures.

 

Andrew Morrison.Photo courtesy Andrew Morrison
Andrew Morrison.
Photo courtesy Andrew Morrison

Andrew Morrison, San Carlos Apache and Haida, is a phenomenal painter and muralist who is proud to call Seattle his home, he is a great 12th Man Seahawks fan, and considers a blank wall his absolute greatest resource. Morrison’s PechaKucha presentation was on the past, present, and future of the great Indian Heritage High School murals he created of Chief Sealth, Chief Joseph, Geronimo, and Chief Sitting Bull.

“Being a Native person, I really take a lot of pride in painting and creating murals. It truly is an honor every day to be able to celebrate the Native American arts through my craft,” says Morrison. “The goal of my painting is to better myself, my family and the community.”

Morrison and many of his friends attended Indian Heritage High School (IHS) in Seattle. In 2001, after attending college, Morrison began volunteering in the art program and noticed there was a void within the school. “I saw there wasn’t a lot of artwork on the walls of the school. The walls were very blank and very dormant, without energy. As a muralist, as a painter, I’m always striving for larger surfaces,” explained Morrison of his motivation to begin painting 25-foot by 100-foot large murals of Native American heroes.

It was a twelve-year project to completely finish the four mammoth murals on IHS, beginning in 2001 and being completed in 2013. The massive portraits of Native American heroes was noticed by news outlets, tribal and non-tribal alike. The portraits are a source of pride for many Native people who don’t see their heroes recognized as they should be. Unfortunately, there were those who saw the massive portraits as an opportunity to vandalize another’s work to showcase their own ignorance, as the mantra goes, ‘haters gonna hate’. Over the weekend of February 24, 2015 a local graffiti crew desecrated the murals by splattering white latex paint all over them.

 

Photo courtesy Andrew Morrison
Photo courtesy Andrew Morrison

 

Only days later a cleanup operation, led by Morrison, consisting of 30-35 volunteers worked tirelessly to remove the white spray-paint and restore the murals to their former glory. As if the vandals’ desecrations wasn’t enough, soon after restoring the murals Morrison learned there was a proposal in the Seattle School District to demolish Indian Heritage High School, along with his murals.

“I fought and advocated for a  year straight, twelve months exactly, to preserve these murals. I felt these images of our Native American warrior chiefs were so sacred and so holy that to demolish them to the ground would be another form of desecration. That was a very tumultuous battle and fight, but I give the credit to the community and the people who believe in art and believe in our indigenous culture. Through the power of togetherness we were able to get the Seattle School District to vote to preserve these murals. Now, these murals are presented prepped and ready to go as they will be built into the new Wilson Pacific Schools to be opened next year.

“Especially after living through experiences like these, it actually inspires me to paint bigger and larger and be more creative and go more in depth. It is heartwarming to know that the murals will continue to witness life and be an inspiration at the new Wilson Pacific Schools.”

 

Photo courtesy Andrew Morrison
Photo courtesy Andrew Morrison

Hundreds attend Tulalip Veterans Pow Wow

VetPowow_1

 

By  Mara Hill, Tulalip News 

The vibrancy of color and beauty in Native American regalia and the sound of drums is enough to give you goose bumps throughout your body, and a shiver down your spine. The intensity of the drum beat matches the heartbeat of the bystanders as they watch 15 drum groups and hundreds of dancers compete in the Annual Veterans Pow Wow. The dancing, round drums, and singing can give the sensation of being in a meditative state of mind.  Attendees travel long distances to be a part of this pow wow, to not only honor our veterans, but to meet and connect with other communities and tribes.

The Veterans Pow Wow was held June 5-7 in the Don Hatch Youth Center.

 

 

Contact Mara Hill, award@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

A new ‘edge’ at Indian Market this year

People crowd the streets surrounding the Plaza during last year’s Santa Fe Indian Market. The market last year brought in an estimated 150,000 visitors, and had an $80 million economic impact on the city and state. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)
People crowd the streets surrounding the Plaza during last year’s Santa Fe Indian Market. The market last year brought in an estimated 150,000 visitors, and had an $80 million economic impact on the city and state. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)

By Jackie Jadrnak, Albuquerque Journal

Bouncing back from financial and staffing controversies last year, the Santa Fe Indian Market this August is promising a newly contemporary flavor.

It’s not that the standards are changing substantially for the main market on the Plaza, although last year and this year some rules have been loosened to allow some non-traditional materials and techniques – variations that must be disclosed, said Dallin Maybee, chief operating officer for the Southwestern Association of American Indian Arts.

“We want to protect the collectors, as well as the artists,” he said.

More important, this year’s market will see a new expansion called Indian Market Edge, which will offer indoor spaces at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center to galleries and Native American artists who create contemporary fine art, he said.

“I’m particularly excited about this,” Maybee said. “We can present some contemporary artists who don’t show with us now.”

While some artists who produce works in a contemporary style have complained in the past that they didn’t feel there was a place for them within the traditional bounds of Indian Market, Maybee said he felt that he had seen many artists include innovative works in their booths. Adding this contemporary showcase, though, will shine a spotlight on modern works being produced by Native artists, he said.

“The people I’ve approached about the concept are really excited,” Maybee said. “This will help us stay fresh. We have to change with the times or we lose aspects of our culture.” Contemporary art is an aspect of tribes’ cultural evolution, he noted, adding that he creates some contemporary works himself, as do many of his friends.

“I’d like SWAIA to be known not just for traditional mediums,” he said.

Shoppers look at Zuni fetishes at last year’s Indian Market on Santa Fe’s Plaza. Many Native American artists earn a substantial portion of their income during the two-day event. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)
Shoppers look at Zuni fetishes at last year’s Indian Market on Santa Fe’s Plaza. Many Native American artists earn a substantial portion of their income during the two-day event. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)

The idea is to offer 12-15 spaces to galleries that represent Native artists to show their works, while SWAIA will review applications from independent artists and choose about six to eight to showcase in its own space. He said the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts has expressed an interest in participating.

Altogether, Maybee estimated that 30 to 40 artists will have their work in Indian Market Edge. Booth fees won’t be charged, but SWAIA will take a “small percentage” of any sales, Maybee said.

Some 900 artists take part in the outdoor Indian Market, slated for Aug. 22-23 on the Santa Fe Plaza. Those artists keep the proceeds of their sales, but pay a fee for their booths.

SWAIA, the organization that makes Indian Market happen, went through some turmoil last year when former operating officer John Torres Nez left with two other staffers to form the Indigenous Fine Arts Market, which presented artists in the Railyard on some days overlapping Indian Market and promised a greater voice to artists in how the market was produced.

According to its website, IFAM intends to present a market again this year Aug. 20-22.

That split came about when SWAIA was experiencing financial troubles and reduced work hours of some of its staff.

Maybee said this week that the organization no longer is experiencing financial woes. It paid off its loans after last year’s market and hasn’t taken out any new loans since, he said, partly due to the fact that last year’s gala auction raised a record amount of more than $400,000.

“We got a groundswell of support among the artists,” who donate artworks for the auction, Maybee said. “They wanted to support and protect the legacy (of Indian Market).”

And the Winter Market, which usually doesn’t make money, came out ahead this year, he said, “between the Festival of Trees and good business decisions.”

The Festival of Trees was a program in which various businesses and artists decorated Christmas trees that were auctioned off as a fundraiser.

Eventually, Maybee said, he would like to see Indian Market go from producing events to being a year-round presence – about 50 acres would be a good size for a site to establish a permanent presence with art on display and for sale, not unlike the Indian Pueblo Cultural Arts Center in Albuquerque, he said.

That’s all still in the talking phase, though, and would require a considerable amount of fundraising, Maybee said, adding that a new development director should be coming on board in a month or so. Santa Fe would be the location for such a project, if it came to fruition, he said.

Meanwhile, Maybee said this year’s Indian Market, in its 94th year, also will include:

  • The Native Cinema Showcase, starting earlier that week, along with the Classification X winners for submitted films.
  • A Thursday-night private preview reception where donors and tribal leaders can mingle and view the Best of Show winners; jeweler Raymond Yazzie, whose family currently has a show at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City, will conduct a book-signing.
  • The Native American Rights Fund, a nonprofit law firm from Denver that defends Native sovereignty and other issues, will offer panel discussions exploring various Native issues in Cathedral Park on Saturday and Sunday.
  • Fashion events to showcase both contemporary and traditional fashions produced by Native designers.
  • An auction that will feature many artworks, including a four-place table setting that will be auctioned off en masse with everything from place mats to wineglasses produced by a bevy of Native artists.
  • A farewell party, by ticket purchase, Sunday night at La Mesita Ranch past Pojoaque, organized in collaboration with Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino, with music, food, wine, spirit tastings and more.