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By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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A cultural exchange intended to immerse ArtChangeUs attendees in the Lakota story also worked to empower individual Native artists. Molina Parker (Oglala Lakota) came into the space at Racing Magpie in Rapid City, South Dakota for a collaborative art piece with Tasha Abourezk (Three Affiliated Tribes). Together, they drew people with ArtChangeUs REMAP into a group project that bonded them.

“We felt like we could trust each other,” Molina says. Both she and Tasha are former First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership fellows. “There was a cultural exchange, and I found that empowering. Everyone was willing to listen to each other.”  

First Peoples Fund welcomed the REMAP program to Lakota Territory in Pine Ridge and Rapid City, South Dakota, where everyone experienced a greater understanding of the climate, the people, and one another. ArtChangeUS REMAP: Pine Ridge: “Reclaiming Our Way of Knowing” engaged Native and non-Native artists, educators, activists, and changemakers in two days of immersive cultural experiences.

Arts in a Changing America director Roberta Uno says, “It was moving to hear Mary Bordeaux talk about coming to Rapid City as a child and not feeling welcome as a Lakota — and now a Lakota led-space is redefining what an arts center can be — inclusive of heritage and contemporary, as well as all people.”

The REMAP: Pine Ridge program encompassed diverse cultures and brought together people from New York, Hawai’i, Alaska, and places in between. Representatives from valued First Peoples Fund partners such as ArtPlace America and the Bush Foundation joined in the REMAP effort. We welcomed many who haven’t had the opportunity to visit the area. This led to connecting our artist fellows with larger national organizations.

“Many hands went into the effort, and it showed in every way,” Roberta says.

An initiative based out of the California Institute of the Arts, the ArtChangeUS mission is to reframe the national arts conversation by embracing the cultural assets of demographic change. REMAP is one of their primary programs. It focuses on bringing together an exceptional mix of leading artists, activists, scholars, and changemakers for cultural exchanges.

This was fulfilled in Lakota Territory with artist workshops, poets, educators, and other passionate presenters. The experience brought a better understanding for visitors of how much the area has to offer.

“There’s a Hawaiian proverb ‘Ma ka hana ka ʻike’ — basically, one learns by doing,” Roberta says. “All the artistic workshops by Mike Marshall, Molina Parker, Tasha Abourezk, Ohitika Locke, Tanaya Winder, and others were brilliant and it was a wonderful time to get to know each other and enjoy each participant’s company. Racing Magpie was ideal for these artistic exchanges; it is an inviting and inspiring space.”

In a full immersion experience that included grounding at He Sapa (Black Hills), the group had the opportunity to visit the Pine Ridge Reservation and Red Cloud Indian School Heritage Center.

“We were able to share the Lakota culture on Pine Ridge, the art that is being made there,” Mary Bordeaux (Sicangu/Oglala Lakota) says. She is the Vice President of Programs and Operations at First Peoples Fund. “It was good to bring all of those national folks to participate, see what we’re doing, and appreciate it.”

The project served to remap and recreate the image of Lakota people and their lifeways in modern times. While Native people honor and preserve traditions — mainly through art — their lives today are far removed from the romanticized version so firmly embedded in mainstream culture.

“A lot of people don’t realize that we use iPhones, we’re all on the internet,” Molina says. “We’ve started new traditions with art forms. We have a rich culture, and we want to share that with people.”

The workshop, led by Molina and Tasha, of creating quilt squares mixed with beading was a representation of how art can reshape demographics and bridge gaps. Tasha is sewing the pieces together to form a wall hanging as a reminder of the shared experience during the workshop.

“We were all laughing, enjoying ourselves, telling stories while we worked,” Molina says.  “Some of these people are directors of their organizations, and I didn’t know that going in. But no one had airs. Everyone just came and had fun. It brought us together, and I think that’s what art does.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

Kandi McGilton (Metlakatla Indian Community) is a modern Tsimshian artist in southeast Alaska. A student of renowned master weavers Delores and Holly Churchill, Kandi practices the endangered Annette Island style of Tsimshian basketry. She received the Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award in 2017 to help continue her apprenticeship.

Kandi specializes in devilfish bags (octopus bags) through her business, Devilfish Designs. She collaborates with 2017 First Peoples Fund fellow David R. Boxley (Tsimshian) to create traditional formline designs. She co-founded the Haayk Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to revitalize Sm’algyax, the language of the Tsimshian.

Dedicated and determined, Kandi still struggled with learning how to weave. She had teachers and worked hard, but couldn’t get it down. When Kandi heard Holly Churchill (Haida) was on her island, house sitting in the small fishing community of Metlakatla, she tracked down the traditional weaver.

“I kind of threw myself at her, saying ‘I want to learn how to weave from you,’” Kandi says with a laugh.

Kandi visited with Holly in the evenings, and experienced a transformation.

Holly recognized her technique problem immediately and asked if Kandi would like to learn Tsimshian style. Shocked that was even possible, Kandi said yes.

Holly introduced Kandi to her mother, Delores Churchill (Haida), a former Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Awards honoree and 2015 Cultural Capital fellow. Delores had Kandi reverse her weaving to clockwise and with a Z-twist. It all fell into place at last.

“The Tsimshian of Annette Islands Reserve has a unique style of weaving,” Kandi explains. “It uses all red cedar twining with the incorporation of maiden’s hair fern and canary grass false embroidery.”

Kandi is now taking the gift of her knowledge into replicating ancient baskets held in museums. Selecting pieces from hundreds of photos taken at the Museum of Anthropology, the Royal BC Museum, and the Burke Museum, Kandi is sitting down and weaving the replicas. Supported by her 2018 First Peoples Fund Cultural Capital fellowship, her goal is copying one piece from each museum. In this way, she is bringing the ancient pieces home.

“I’m extremely grateful for First Peoples Fund believing in this project, and understanding how important it is for me to create these replicas for our people to study and be proud of,” Kandi says.

“I’m extremely grateful for First Peoples Fund believing in this project, and understanding how important it is for me to create these replicas for our people to study and be proud of.”

— Kandi McGilton (Metlakatla Indian Community)

With moving into leadership roles in the community, Kandi still presents her baskets to Delores. She takes a float plane or ferry to leave her island and visit her mentor in Ketchikan for Delores to critique her work.

“Delores is amazing with small intricacies,” Kandi says. “She was a saint from the start.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

Rico Lanaat’ Worl’s (Tlingit/Athabascan) art is a focused study in learning formline design, the traditional style of the Indigenous Northwest Coast people. His skateboards are featured in museum collections such as the Anchorage Museum, the Museum of the North, and the Burke Museum in Seattle.

Rico currently serves on the board of directors for the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. His art business, Trickster Company, is showcased online and with a storefront in downtown Juneau, Alaska.

Instead of notes, artistic sketches filled the page during class while Rico pursued his degree in anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. After earning that degree, Rico came home and worked for a regional tribal nonprofit in repatriation and on designing language learning games. Though soon, he found himself creating more and more art.

Generations of Rico’s people have lived, worked, and created in the challenging climate of the Northwest Coast. He seeks to honor those values and traditions while exemplifying contemporary art and what it means to live a healthy, modern, Indigenous lifestyle.

“I create design that represents that Native people are an important part of this world.”

— Rico Worl (Tlingit/Athabascan)

Skateboards became Rico’s canvas and platform to reach youth, to instill pride in who they are as Native people.

When he decided to create a deck of cards, it took four months to design every face card as an individual piece of art. It took just four days to fund production through Kickstarter.com.

Along with Rico’s sister — 2017 Artist in Business Leadership fellow Crystal Worl — with her interdisciplinary art, Trickster Company was born. The family business provides jobs and an outlet for local artists in their community. Always striving for innovation, Rico is using his 2018 Artist in Business Leadership program to experiment with integrating leather and seal fur into his metal work.

When Rico sees youth ride a skateboard they picked up at Trickster Company, he knows centuries of living and creating on his people’s land is being experienced and upheld by the next generation.

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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Dynamic spoken word, the rhythm of rap, the captivating gentleness of acoustics. Artists for the REZILIENCE Indigenous Arts Experience brought a mixture of performing arts that ignited and energized their audience while sharing passion, hope, and healing at the family-friendly event.

The inspiration for REZILIENCE Indigenous Arts Experience, also known as REZARTX, came three years ago.

“I started seeing how people enjoyed community events around Native arts in a way that was more interactive,” says The REZILIENCE Organization’s Executive Director Warren Montoya (Santa Ana Pueblo).

A 2017 School for Advanced Research (SAR) fellow and accomplished muralist, Warren has gained recognition at Santa Fe Indian Market, Heard Indian Market, and has shown in several galleries. His business, REZONATE Art, produces events and public art projects. So for him, The REZILIENCE Organization and its annual REZARTX event is an extension of work he has been doing throughout his life.

The mission of The REZILIENCE Organization is to provide creative spaces and environments that promote imagining, learning, and practicing positive life-ways to encourage the well-being and achievements of Indigenous communities. REZILIENCE launched its first REZARTX event in 2016.

Once First Peoples Fund learned more about REZILIENCE, we invited them to apply for the Our Nations’ Spaces (ONS) grant program. Helping bring their annual REZARTX event to life in 2018 met the goals of the ONS grant to advance and foster support for Native arts.

For instance, over the past three years, REZILIENCE has fostered strong relationships with over 70 artists, giving them opportunities to showcase and educate the public about their work. The organization has created over 30 partnerships with various entities including community organizations, companies, schools, museums, tribal governments, behavioral health facilities, and youth programs.

The moment where all these partnerships coalesce is the REZARTX annual event. Directed by Indigenous philosophies for building community, the event is a mass collaboration. The REZILIENCE team handles logistics while inviting partners to take ownership of each focus area during the experience.

“What’s critical and unique with REZILIENCE is that it’s part of this movement to build a greater community by the people who it’s about,” says Jaclyn Roessel (Navajo), Warren’s wife and a volunteer for the organization.

“What’s critical and unique with REZILIENCE is that it’s part of this movement to build a greater community by the people who it’s about.”

— - Jaclyn Roessel (Navajo)

“It’s an examination of how do you build strong communities, how did our ancestors do it?” Warren adds. “It’s intimidating at times but we want it to become something people can utilize and look towards as a space to engage, to see it as their own space.”

REZARTX was held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Their state-of-the-art Albuquerque Journal Theatre is one of the largest indoor theaters in New Mexico and provided optimal sound quality and three levels of seating.

Inside the plaza, attendees watched the stunning 8’x40’ video mural installation near the stage. Sponsored by Albuquerque’s Public Art and created by Joseph Hopkins (Muskogee Creek / Seminole) and Britney King (Navajo / Chippewa-Cree) four screens flashed the past, present, and future of Indigenous people in images and words to kick off the robust concert schedule.

Bobby Wilson (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota) of the 1491s — a Native sketch comedy group — emceed the concert which captivated audiences with stellar performances by Native American, Alaskan and Hawaiian Native artists. Beats resounded from alternative rock, folk, island reggae, hip-hop, and soul along with cultural dances and traditional songs, all supported by visual effects and stage projections.

“It’s an examination of how do you build strong communities, how did our ancestors do it? [...] we want it to become something people can utilize and look towards as a space to engage, to see it as their own space.”

— Warren Montoya (Santa Ana Pueblo), The REZILIENCE Organization's Executive Director

Among the performers were two former First Peoples Fund fellows: Tall Paul (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe) and Tanaya Winder (Duckwater Shoshone / Pyramid Lake Paiute / Southern Ute). This was Tanaya’s second appearance at REZARTX.

“Tanaya did poetry and an awesome acoustic session,” Warren says. “She was able to premiere some new pieces at REZARTX. And I can’t believe how amazing Tall Paul is as an artist. He’s quiet, but onstage, he’s rolling through those lyrics.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

Joseph Brophy Toledo (Jemez Pueblo) has served the Pueblo of Jemez in various capacities for over four decades. He works with Indigenous youth groups, is an adjunct instructor for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), and worked as a creative consultant for Robert Mirabal Productions. Brophy has served on the Native American Global Sports Committee and been instrumental in international indigenous projects.

His art includes pottery, painting, corn husk art, models of traditional structures, and the creation of traditional tools, weapons, and instruments.

Sitting at the top of Flower Hill, a sacred mountain for his people, Brophy shared with Roger Fragua (Jemez Pueblo) how he was tired of talking about needs in the community. It was time to take action.

They launched the Flower Hill Institute in 2016, a nonprofit which helps expand Brophy’s capacity to share art and language with his community.

“A lot of the tribal people have forgotten about the mountain,” Brophy says. “We’re reminding them, and now everybody wants to go back to Flower Hill. That’s the whole reason behind the name. This mountain is going to bring our people back.”

Through Flower Hill and his 2018 First Peoples Fund Cultural Capital fellowship, Brophy is leading a youth art project to paint the water tower overlooking the Pueblo of Jemez. They are telling the story of their community.

“We don’t just do art; we talk through art,” he says.

They reached out to elders to hear their stories and opinions, and Brophy shepherded the students in designing images.

“A lot of the designs for the tank are based on their stories,” he says. “The elders are very impressed with what we are doing with our youth. It’s something they’ve wanted, but it’s all been just talk. Now we have action, and everyone’s moving in. I want the elders to do a lot of the painting. It’s happening.”

“The elders are very impressed with what we are doing with our youth. It’s something they’ve wanted, but it’s all been just talk. Now we have action, and everyone’s moving in.”

Living in an agriculture community, it is critical for youth to understand how the ecosystem functions, from fish in the streams to bird migration routes. Drawing from his many artistic mediums, Brophy worked with the youth to create corn husk dragonflies and also perform what he calls the pollinator dance with butterfly wings.

During the culture and science youth camp in July, Brophy took students out on the Rio Grande River in canoes and kayaks to measure water levels, check for contaminants, and sample for macroinvertebrate as they learned the vitalness of understanding the water in their community.

Working through the interconnected Flower Hill Institute, Brophy sees the youth art project on the water tower as becoming a source of pride for everyone.

“I appreciate First Peoples Fund allowing us to do what we’re doing,” he says. “It means a lot to our kids and to everyone else that is a part of it now.”

Flower Hill, their sacred mountain, is bringing Brophy’s people back.

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

Raye Zaragoza is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and performer whose multinational heritage (O’odham, Mexican, Taiwanese and Japanese) deeply informs her music. Her song “In the River,” in response to DAPL, garnered half a million video views, national media coverage, a Global Music Award, and an Honesty Oscar. Her debut album “Fight For You” released in 2017.

Raye resides in North Hollywood, California, and is a 2018 First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership fellow.

Music resounded from the stage under the lights in the restaurant. Raye wanted to be on the stage, not waiting tables in front of it as she made cash to support her fledgling music career.

Raye had pursued acting for a time, only to find she stayed up nights writing songs. At nineteen and singing at a pie shop three hours every Tuesday while getting booked at other local venues, she came to a realization.

“I decided, ‘I’m a singer-songwriter,” she says. “‘This means more to me than anything, and I’m going to give it my all.’”

“I decided, ‘I’m a singer-songwriter. This means more to me than anything, and I’m going to give it my all.”

2018 is Raye’s first year as a full-time musician and living on her own. It’s filled with incredible opportunities she only dreamed of.

Raye launched the year with a tour in Germany. Though her audiences weren’t always fluent English speakers, they connected with Raye’s style.

“For me, it’s the most important thing to write music with a message that can open minds,” she says. “Many people have said my music is healing, and I hope I can continue to heal those who are suffering within my community and around the world.”

“Many people have said my music is healing, and I hope I can continue to heal those who are suffering within my community and around the world.”

Raye’s year sped up when she attended FPF’s Fellowship Convening in Santa Fe.

“It was great that First Peoples Fund educated us on the importance of having a lawyer,” she says. Through her fellowship funds, she was able to hire a lawyer who can protect her rights as an independent artist.

She also connected with 2018 Artist in Business Leadership fellow Jeff Peterson (Native Hawaiian) when they co-wrote, performed, and recorded a song at the convening. He is now her guitar teacher via Skype.

“He’s taught me riffs and variations, helping me take my songs to the next level,” Raye says.

With a fast-paced year halfway behind her, Raye is trying to reflect on the journey, but things aren’t slowing down. This summer, she’s on the biggest tour of her life, opening for Dispatch and Nahko and Medicine for the People. She’s looking ahead to her FPF grant helping her finish a home studio and record her EP.

“It’s amazing to be able to just focus on music,” Raye says. “I’m really blessed.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

Total darkness surrounded Elaine Grinnell (Jamestown S’Klallam and Lummi) except flickering light showing through cracks in the potbelly stove. The light illuminated her grandfather’s face as he calmly peeled apples and told stories during those World War II blackouts along the Jamestown Beach.

Even with barbed wire rolled out on the sandy beach and her mother working at the ammunition depot, Elaine forgot her fears as she absorbed each word. Her grandfather, David Prince, gave her the gift of storytelling.

“I just watched the expressions on his face and listened to the tone of his voice,” Elaine says. “I don’t think he realized what he did for me, and my mother never really understood how I was passing on our culture and traditions, and preservation of things that are nearly lost, such as our language.”

Living with her grandparents, Elaine found they wouldn’t speak to her in Klallam, but her grandfather used some of the vocabulary in his stories. Not only does Elaine do this now, she became a certified Klallam language teacher in 2003.

Art and tradition are tightly woven through Elaine’s life and won’t let her retire. She still tells stories several times a week at NatureBridge, an environmental literacy education program based at Olympic National Park.

“I have the best time with the kids,” Elaine says. “If we have handicapped, that’s fine, too. I’ve had little kids come up to me and put their hands on my throat so they can hear my voice. I’m just so happy that God and my grandfather and grandmother gave me this ability to enjoy what I’m doing. I’ve gone to Africa and Japan and had interpreters, and maybe they don’t understand it, but they respond to my actions.”

At 81-years-old, Elaine continues to serve on several committees and boards. Her steadfast dedication led her granddaughter, Khia Grinnell (Jamestown S’Klallam and Lummi), to nominate Elaine for a First Peoples Fund Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award.

“She embodies so much spirit of the Klallam community. There’s a warmth about her that’s contagious.”

— Khia Grinnell (S'Klallam & Lummi), Elaine's Granddaughter

Elaine is one of the Pacific Northwest’s Native cultural and traditional treasures, and we were pleased to recognize her with a 2018 Community Spirit Award (CSA). In June, we visited Sequim, Washington to honor Elaine in her community. Over 100 people gathered at the community center from tribes in Washington, Canada, and Oregon, as well as First Peoples Fund staff from South Dakota.

“I was so thrilled,” Elaine says. “They gave me a blanket in honor of this award, and I put it on my bed, looked at it, and said, ‘It really is true, isn’t it?’ The First Peoples Fund representatives came from South Dakota clear out to Sequim. It’s way out on the Olympic Peninsula. But they found their way and came to visit and see what I was doing and where I was doing it. I’ll forever more be so deeply touched by that.”

Elaine recently went to Alaska and was able to visit with Marie Meade (Yup’ik), another 2018 CSA recipient.

“We talked about things we’ve done in the communities and compare differences and likenesses," said Elaine. "It was so interesting to listen to someone else’s culture. A lot of the things coincided with mine.”

Though storytelling is her predominate art medium these days, Elaine continues teaching three generations in her family cultural foodways and traditional basket weaving.

Along with showing her family how to gather, prepare, and weave Western Red Cedar bark, she practices traditional food gathering and cooking. She spent much of her life living on and around the Straights of Juan de Fuca (also known as the Salish Sea) where she dug clams, picked oysters, caught salmon, crab, and octopus and prepared them in traditional ways.

Elaine takes her cultural practices worldwide—or down the road to an ailing community member. “This week, I went to visit a lady who has an autoimmune system issue. She was so lonesome for Indian food, so my grandson and I took her clam chowder and fry bread. She just tore into it. That was so fun to see her smile.

“She and my grandson had a lot in common. I’m putting generations together. I want all my grandchildren to know people I know because they can benefit from their knowledge, their feelings, and their spirit.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

Bluedog is a five-member blues/rock band out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Initially formed in 2001 by Joni (Weston) and Eric Buffalohead, it includes their daughter Alexandra on keyboard and backup vocals, Tom Suess on bass, and Greg Mans on drums.

Bluedog has released original albums and singles to multiple award nominations from the Native American Music Awards and the Indian Summer Music Awards.

Alexandra Buffalohead was awarded a 2018 First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership program on behalf of the band.

“The blues came from our ancestors; our ancestors come from this land. This is native blues. This is who we are.”

— Bluedog

With the influence of powwows and cultural dances, the Buffalohead family’s blues music is Native first. Life experiences, lived and absorbed, flow out in a way that lets their audience know Native people are still here. Their music celebrates life — the good and bad.

“Depending on the song, it can be uplifting, sad, resilient,” lead vocalist Joni says. “Tons of emotions go into it.”  

Setting out in 2001, Joni and her husband, lead guitarist Eric, formed Bluedog.

“We’ve had the opportunity to play with legendary people,” Eric said. “It’s been incredible.” The band has fronted notable blues acts including: The Robert Cray Band, Indigenous, Los Lonely Boys, Corey Stevens, John Mayall, Kenny Neal Band, Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials, Coco Montoya, Ana Popovic, Walter Trout, Shannon Curfman, and the Jerry Garcia Band.

They coaxed their daughter, Alex, into putting her piano lessons to good use by playing keys for the band and singing backup for Joni. The family travels together, supporting each other through ups and downs on the road. They have gotten to know one another even more, especially through interactions with audiences. Bluedog takes the opportunity to be a role model as a family seriously.

“It’s scary sometimes because you see other musicians get burned out. They seem empty and can resort to drugs,” Joni says. “It can be lonely on the road. We look out for each other as a family.”

Alex applied for the First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership program on behalf of Bluedog, and they were awarded in 2018. The band is working on their next album with support from their ALB.

Writing and recording original songs, Joni’s greatest struggle is remaining true to herself. Thankfully, she had aunties still alive who advised her on this when she and Eric first set out with Bluedog. She takes their advice above all others.

“We’re trying to get our foot into mainstream,” Joni says, “but we don’t want to give up who we are to do that.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

Hailing from a long line of Native Hawaiian singers, musicians and performers on her mother’s side and Diné storytellers and medicine people on her father’s side, Heidi K Brandow is a painter and printmaker. Her work is commonly filled with whimsical characters and monsters often combined with poetry, stories, and personal reflections.

Represented by Form and Concept Gallery of Santa Fe, and by Chaco Gallery of Albuquerque, Heidi is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe. She studied design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Istanbul Technical University in Turkey.

Heidi was selected for the inaugural cohort of the 2018 Story Maps Fellowship in Santa Fe, and is preparing for a pop-up show at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in August. Heidi is a 2018 Artist in Business Leadership Fellow.

When Heidi landed in Turkey for a student exchange trip, she did not expect the warm welcome and sense of kinship with the people. Their awareness of Native people drew her into a world far from her traditional Hawai’i and Diné upbringing, yet similarities connected her to the country.

“I love the place, the people, the land, the culture,” Heidi says. “I committed myself to keeping that relationship open over the years.”

Through her art — which draws inspiration from her cultural heritage, pop culture and critical theory — Heidi focuses on social engagement projects to meet global community needs.

“(in)dispensable” is a collaborative venture between Heidi and designer Sinem Sayar that documents individuals working in the solid waste + recycling industry in Turkey. As Heidi’s third social engagement project, it is the first time they accomplished everything planned. With experience, knowledge, and strong partnerships, the only element lacking was funding to explore the project fully. The final boost came from Heidi’s First Peoples Fund (FPF) 2018 Artist in Business Leadership program.

Her fellowship is also supporting reconfiguration and upgrades to Heidi’s art studio. “First Peoples Fund has been fundamental in allowing me to get the materials and tools I need to have a more streamlined process,” she says.

Finishing her FPF fellowship, Heidi hopes to return to Turkey this fall and produce a film of the “(in)dispensable” project.

While her day job as a retention specialist at the Institute of American Indian Arts allows Heidi to support her two boys, she is working toward a full-time career as an artist. “I believe my arts practice is a reflection of the true person I aspire to be — bold, free, passionate, and courageous.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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Hula, leis, and partners from the mainland came together to honor a culture bearer on the island of Molokai. Kanoelani Davis (Native Hawaiian) was recognized as a 2018 Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award (CSA) recipient for 30-plus years of practicing, preserving, and perpetuating her culture through art. Though CSA honorees like Kanoelani often do not view their work as significant, they represent vital strands woven into the fabric of their communities.

“The Community Spirit Award was definitely a surprise for me,” Kanoelani says. “It was an honor to be recognized by somebody in my community who sees the work I’ve been doing as a Hawaiian on our small island.”  

The CSA honoring held at the Molokai Community Health Center reflected the impact of Kanoelani’s art. Over 100 people gathered to recognize her work as an artist-leader. Culture bearers are at the heart of communities and the work of First Peoples Fund (FPF), and why we honor artists through the Community Spirit Award.

Duncan Ka’ohu Seto (Native Hawaiian), 2016 CSA recipient and FPF trainer, welcomed Kanoelani to the First Peoples Fund family.

“I shared with her the responsibility that comes with the award,” Ka’ohu says. “I know she’s on that road already.”

The youngest CSA honoree awarded in Hawai’i to date, Kanoelani took the opportunity at the gathering to honor those who made the way for her, including grandparents and mentors.

“It’s my responsibility before they pass and you can’t tell them ‘thank you,’ you can’t show them, ‘I am here because of you,’” Kanoelani says. “For me, the most important part of the ceremony was being able to bring them up and honor them.”

Before the gathering, she selected twelve maile leis, one of the highest adorning leis.

“As I’m giving them their leis and sharing their stories, you could see them crying, and that they felt uplifted. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity and space to do that.”

For 37 years, Kanoelani has practiced hula, wood carving, weapon making, and gathering shells for lei. She integrates traditional and contemporary wear into her growing fashion design company, PōMahina Designs.

“I just finished the MAMo Wearable Art Show on two islands with 65 models total,” Kanoelani says.

She is respected as a leader in her community, a sustainer of Hawaiian culture. Brandon Jones, executive director of the Molokai Arts Center, has worked closely with Kanoelani and recognizes her hard work in the community. He nominated her for the CSA award.

“Kanoe is a powerful and vibrant force in the community,” Brandon says. “From the moment I met her, it became clear that her number one mission in life is to propel and care for her culture. She received the honor of becoming a Kuma Hula which means she’s been blessed by her teacher to teach hula. She was given that honor at an unusually young age. By carrying that honor, she carries a weight of leadership in the community.”

“Kanoe is a powerful and vibrant force in the community. From the moment I met her, it became clear that her number one mission in life is to propel and care for her culture.”

— Brandon Jones, Kanoelani's CSA nominator

Without culture bearers like Kanoelani, community values and traditions are lost to time and advancing change. These culture bearers strengthen communities and undergird the programs within First Peoples Fund. CSA honorees embody the Collective Spirit® and drive the work forward, integral to every piece. CSA nominations always come from within their own communities, from those impacted the most by their dedicated work.

The tapestry of Kanoelani’s art expanded internationally with the Pacific Fusion Fashion Show in New Zealand, and recently with an invitation to Fashion Week in New York and Paris.

Her tapestry also covers unification of communities. Kanoelani experienced this through her Intercultural Leadership Institute (ILI) fellowship and subsequent convenings where fellows discussed the importance of “showing up” to support one another. Three ILI fellows showed up for Kanoelani at her community for the honoring.

“They brought their tradition and their culture into our culture, showing unification as a people,” Kanoelani says. “It was special not only for me, but community members were able to see and experience this themselves.”

For culture bearers like Kanoelani, the significance of their work always flows back to their community’s needs. While her art brings traditions of the past into the contemporary world, Kanoelani passes on ancient practices to new generations to embody the spirit of their community.

“She is taking the sensibility she has and relating purely Native Hawaiian sensibility and using it to have a discussion through design about what it is to be Native Hawaiian and a contemporary Hawaiian,” Brandon says. “She is showing a younger generation that it’s possible to retain that precious sense of culture and identity and not lose that going forward. By being honored for this, I think another generation coming up sees that others understand the value of that.”

Though it was hard for Kanoelani to accept recognition as a CSA honoree, it was part of the process of moving her forward in preserving and perpetuating her culture through her art.

“I’m grateful to Lori Pourier and the Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award because it has changed my entire consciousness regarding recognition,” Kanoelani says. “There are unheard stories and unseen heroes that are still working tirelessly and unconditionally for our people, our culture, and our community. This award has inspired me to work toward doing honorings like this for our people in Hawai’i. I understand how important that can be as an individual who’s receiving it. Sometimes it’s okay to be recognized. That’s a big life lesson for me.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

“Lakotiyapi thewahila Cha lechamun hechel oyate nipi kte.”
“I love the Lakota language, and I do this so the Nation will live.”

— Dorian Baldes (Oglala Lakota), Dances With Words Poet

Rearranging syllables and translating words in his mind came naturally for 16-year-old Dorian Baldes from a young age. He began writing poems and stories in first grade. When Dorian’s family moved to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, he started on a journey to fulfill one of his life goals: to learn the languages of his ancestry — Lakota, Hispanic, French, Navajo, and Shoshone.

At the Red Cloud Indian School, Dorian enrolled in the Lakota language class and persevered through embarrassment at his mistakes and lacking someone to speak the language with.

He speaks it in daydreams, in translating English lyrics in a song, and to his brother. He is revitalizing the Lakota language on his tongue and for his people. As a finalist for the Rising Star of the West scholarship on Black Hills FOX News TV, Dorian related thoughts on social issues, opinions, and solutions back to Lakota values still applicable to today.

But the thought of writing poetry in the Lakota language didn’t occur to Dorian until friends prodded him into joining Dances with Words™ (DWW) in 2017. A First Peoples Fund youth development initiative, DWW works with young people, adult mentors, high schools and nonprofit partners on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to empower students and community leaders through literary, spoken word and other art forms.

Dorian decided to compete for a place on the Dances with Words™ team for the annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival to represent his people and culture. He made the 2018 team with his poem composed entirely in Lakotiyapi.

“The Lakota language is poetry,” Dorian says. “The culture and the language always go together. That relationship with the earth is evident in the language and the way it’s spoken. As long as you can speak the Lakota language, you can create poetry with it.”

“The Lakota language is poetry. The culture and the language always go together. [...] As long as you can speak the Lakota language, you can create poetry with it.”

— Dorian Baldes

Springtime and the awakening of plants and life, the washing away of snow and pain as rain falls, the rejuvenation of the earth after the hardships of winter — Dorian wanted to convey those emotions in an unconventional way. He allows the flow of the Lakota language to bring depth and meaning to his poetry.

Though Dorian is not yet fluent in the language, he continues to learn and to use it every day. Dances with Words™, with its pilot program in the Pine Ridge Reservation and Rapid City, South Dakota areas, helped lay the foundation for Dorian to move into spoken word poetry, bringing together written poetry and his passion for the Lakota language.

“My understanding of the language has deepened because of poetry,” he says. “It’s been instrumental.”

Dusty Nelson (Oglala Lakota) witnessed the power of this program with her students at the Anpo Wicahpi Girls School in Porcupine, South Dakota. Former Language Arts Educator at the school — which centers on Lakota culture — Dusty is an adult learner of the language.

“I didn’t grow up speaking the Lakota language, but it’s a goal I set for myself to learn and become fluent in my lifetime,” Dusty says. “Within trying to accomplish that goal, I stumbled onto this healing process I wasn’t aware was going to take place. People always say that everything is in the language, so what I came to find is that the Lakota language it is essentially a blueprint for how to be Lakota, how to live Lakota.”

When Dusty brought her students to a DWW open mic, it was an eye-opening experience. She realized the natural connection between the language and poetry as the DWW spoken word poets performed.

“These young people were so real and raw,” she says. “Their ability to talk about their lives in such a deep manner was completely moving. It had a big impact on how I viewed the younger generations.”

Dusty talked to Laree Pourier (Oglala Lakota), First Peoples Fund Program Manager for Youth Development, about bringing the program to Porcupine and working with the  Anpo Wicahpi Girls School students through the DWW curriculum. Dusty watched as girls who had trouble expressing themselves creatively and emotionally opened up with Laree.

“She is an amazing facilitator,” Dusty says. “Her energy is so calming.”

With Laree’s guidance, the DWW curriculum gave the girls opportunity for expression and opened their minds to their own potential.

“Dances with Words gives them a sense of empowerment,” Dusty says. “They think, ‘If I want to be a spoken word poet, I can do that.’ That’s the power of Dances with Words.”

Dusty sees potential in creating an educational foundation of learning through cultural experiences, thereby teaching mainstream concepts through Lakota eyes.

“Poetry is a way to take that seriousness and that ceremony and the prayerfulness and to process it within ourselves and then express what it means to us,” Dusty says. “Dances with Words is invaluable to our community. Watching the youth in the program grow, I feel they became who they really were because Dances with Words gave them the opportunity to be poets and use that form of expression. It was an important stepping stone in their success.”

“Dances With Words is invaluable to our community. Watching the youth in the program grow, I feel they became who they really were because Dances With Words gave them the opportunity to be poets and use that form of expression.”

— Dusty Nelson (Oglala Lakota)

“We have seen how the affirmation and strength drawn from our program carries with the young people even after they graduate,” Laree says. “Our alumni are budding scholars, activists, workers and community organizers. We are so proud of them.”

In preparing for the Brave New Voices international poetry slam competition in July, the DWW team recently attended a community poetry workshop hosted by Layli Long Soldier (Oglala Lakota) and her auntie, Tilda St. Pierre (Oglala Lakota). Layli’s full-length collection Whereas (2017) won the National Books Critics Circle award and was a finalist for the National Book Awards. She has been an essential collaborator in Dances With Words and is currently working with Laree to expand First Peoples Fund’s Youth Development work in some exciting ways that will be announced in 2019.

“Hearing Layli as a professional poet and her incorporation of Lakota into poetry was awesome,” Dorian says. “We had read her poems in class. It was cool to realize there are poets out there, writers, that are Indigenous right around here. It’s hopeful.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer (Choctaw Nation), Artist in Business Leadership Fellow 2015

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The kind of place everyone dreams of. That is how artist and First Peoples Fund staff member  Bryan Parker (White Mountain Apache, Muscogee Creek, Mississippi Choctaw) describes the Oglala Lakota Artspace, a first of its kind space slated to break ground this fall on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

A collaboration between Lakota Funds, First Peoples Fund, and Artspace, this 8,500-ft² Native arts and cultural center will provide not only a home-base for the work of the Rolling Rez Arts Bus, but an expanded opportunity for nurturing the creative economy and arts ecosystem on the reservation.

“Oglala Lakota Artspace has been years in the making,” says First Peoples Fund President Lori Pourier. “It’s incredibly exciting that through our strong partnerships we are now poised to break ground this September.”

The Oglala Lakota Artspace will be located in Kyle, South Dakota. The $2.75 million project is scheduled for completion near the end of 2019 and will be located in close proximity to the Pine Ridge Area Chamber of Commerce, the Lakota Prairie Ranch Resort, Oglala Lakota College, and Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation.

Oglala Lakota architect, Tammy Eagle Bull and her Omaha-based firm, Encompass Architects, have incorporated Indigenous artistry from the start, with the team turning to Lakota star knowledge in designing Oglala Lakota Artspace. Community engagement sessions have also helped shape the building's design and function, with more community engagement sessions happening in the future to help guide programming and events for the space.  As a result, the mixed-use facility itself will be a reflection the community it is serving. The facility will provide:

• Individual artist studios.

• Shared workspace for group collaboration that can double as a small performance space.

• A recording and sound studio.

• A computer lab and classroom space.

• Commercial space for arts-related businesses.

• A Native art gallery and gift shop, including a place to buy art materials and for visitors to shop.

• Storefront for Lakota Federal Credit Union.

• Home base for First Peoples Fund’s youth development spoken word program, Dances With Words, and a garage for the Rolling Rez Arts Bus.

“We’re all coming together to do something for the greater good of the community,” Bryan says. He is the Rolling Rez Arts coordinator, a painter, and a filmmaker. “It is a space that is going to help support existing artists in our community and hopefully inspire new ones as well.”

The new artspace is designed to provide access to the six resources identified in First Peoples Fund’s 2013 market study as the primary resources that artists need to create their work and develop as entrepreneurs. Here are some details on how the space will support each need:

By addressing these six needs, Oglala Lakota Artspace aims to increase opportunities for the whole artist ecosystem on Pine Ridge. Project partners at Lakota Funds and Lakota Federal Credit Union see the building as an exciting step forward in helping artists thrive.

“Lakota Funds and Lakota Federal Credit Union have been strong partners with First Peoples Fund and Artspace, from coming up with the concept of this building to seeing it through to fruition,” says Tawney Brunsch (Oglala Lakota), executive director of Lakota Funds. “Designs for the building allow for Lakota Federal Credit Union to have a designated space, like a miniature version of their only location in Kyle. Think of the benefit that will be to the artists who are already in the space working with First Peoples Fund — potentially doing a class or using the lab — if they had the ability to make a sale or purchase. We would have the credit union right there to provide access to those services.”

“Think of the benefit that will be to the artists who are already in the space working with First Peoples Fund - potentially doing a class or using the lab – if they had the ability to make a sale or purchase. We would have the credit union right there to provide access to those services.”

— Tawny Brunsch (Oglala Lakota), Lakota Funds executive director, on having a Lakota Federal Credit Union storefront in OLAS