Muskogee Oklahoma Native American Association will celebrate and share Native culture during Indigenous Peoples Day observances Sunday and Monday

“Our mission is to preserve the language, culture, traditions, and to keep that alive in the community, while supporting each other,” said MONAA President Madison Shoemaker.

Sunday will be devoted to gospel singing and worship at the Muscogee Indian Community Center.

Norman Daniel, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, will lead worship at 11 a.m.

A free lunch will be served at noon, followed by gospel singing led by Muscogee (Creek) James McHenry, 1 to 5 p.m. Osage member Larry Robinson will lead worship at 5 p.m. and Harry Birdtail, Cherokee, will lead worship at 6 p.m.

Monday festivities begin at 9:45 a.m. with a march around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. Shoemaker said the march is meant “to honor our ancestors.”

Duan Morris, owner of Morris Moving and a Muscogee (Creek), will give the keynote speech at 10 a.m.

“We really wanted a keynote speaker who could come and inspire the youth and our children, and show them you can be successful and Indigenous, give back to your community and be an active part of your tribe,” Shoemaker said.

Indian taco meals will be sold at $10 each from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The price includes a beverage. There will be reserved spots for carry-out.

In the Kids’ Zone, Lynzi Smith, Jerilyn Willie and Alice Sue Jumper-Wilder will teach youngsters how to weave baskets and make medallions and clay pottery.

“Whatever the kids make, they can take it home with them,” Shoemaker said.

More than 15 Native artists will show and sell their art from 1 to 3 p.m.

“We have everything from jewelry to paintings to baskets, pottery, all kinds of different things,” Shoemaker said. “Everybody will find something for themselves at the artist exposition.”

Photo: Copyright 2023, FX Networks. All rights reserved.

Early in Reservation Dogs’ first season, music supervisor Tiffany Anders knew her partnership with series co-creator and showrunner Sterlin Harjo would be fruitful when he made a single request: “All of the music had to have a DIY quality to it,” she remembers. “That was the moment I knew he and I were on the same page.” Their search for songs that provided the feeling of “honesty and integrity and being rough around the edges” made collaborating easy; Anders and Harjo drew on her near-encyclopedic knowledge of 20th-century country and roots music and his love of contemporary indie acts to craft a soundtrack that reflected the series’ thematic and tonal multitudes. Whether twangy and fierce, hushed and melancholy, or catchy and celebratory, the songs reflect each character’s journey as much as the show’s dialogue.

Pairing classic sounds with contemporary ones created a rich layer of texture for the show, yielding some exceptionally eclectic playlists — including iconic Indigenous artists like Buffy Sainte-Marie and Jesse Ed Davis, the whispered shoegaze heartbreak of Black Belt Eagle Scout and Samantha Crain, and the latest single from the last titans of the British Invasion. As the series comes to a close, Anders shares her insights with good old-fashioned senior superlatives for her favorite Rez Dogs needle drops.

“Stadium Pow Wow” by Halluci Nation (Episode 101, “F*ckin’ Rez Dogs”)

The Scene: The four Reservation Dogs stand their ground in Okern rather than let their rival clique, the Indian Mafia, run them out of town. Meanwhile, Lighthorseman Big investigates the inexplicable appearance of catfish in a field.
The Song: Anders gives all the credit for this booming, literally foot-stomping selection to Harjo. “It just feels so cool as the Rez Dogs are walking down the street in their suits,” she explains. “It’s got both the Native vibe, and an empowering one, and the use of it is funny to me in hindsight; Sterlin didn’t want to use traditional Native-sounding music in the show.” The song harnesses chants, traditional percussion instruments, drum machines, and a gritty synth riff to yield a massive sound that works much like a Maori haka: a psych-up song for the home team and a psych-out song for the visitors. Undeniable and stadium-ready, it’s an elder of (and superior to) Taylor Swift’s “…Ready For It?” Perhaps its use in a recent trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon will give it the ubiquity this song deserves.

“If It’s Monday Morning” by Lee Hazlewood (Episode 102, “NDN Clinic”)

The Scene: Cheese — whose eyes, like those of the song’s protagonist, are a little blurred — wheels elder Irene out of the clinic to see the sunset, while “everything doctor” Dr. Kang enjoys some surreptitious Flaming Flamers and a cigarette out back.
The Song: Another episode closer, this tender, lesser-known gem by Tulsa native Hazlewood is one of Anders’s favorite song-to-scene matches across Rez Dogs’ run. Hazlewood’s authoritative baritone with a bit of reverb over a spare guitar arrangement offers a sly contrast with the tentative uncertainty of lyrics like, “I could be doing fine / If I could get you off my mind … God, if you won’t help me, then help me help me / Because I’m not exactly sure where I’m going.” The narrator’s candid bewilderment is “so heartfelt and touching while also being very funny,” she says, capturing the true spirit of Reservation Dogs.

“Soft Stud” by Black Belt Eagle Scout (Episode 201, “The Curse”)

The Scene: As season two opens, Willie Jack talks to a framed photo of Daniel in her kitchen, catching him up on the oddities and troubles everyone else is facing, culminating in her confession that she fears she’s the cause of the titular curse.
The Song: Anders and Harjo struggled with a song selection for the second season’s opening scene, which needed to convey desperation and resignation in equal measure. After rejecting classic garage rock songs like “You’re Gonna Miss Me” by the 13 Floor Elevators (“too on the nose”), they were “totally blown away” by Black Belt Eagle Scout’s woozy guitars and ethereal vocals. “‘Soft Stud’ set something in motion for us to include more current, cool, low-fi Native American artists,” she explains. “It really set the tone for a lot of that season.” Although the lyrics seem to be processing a breakup, the desperate longing for someone the narrator has lost forever is transposed seamlessly from romantic heartbreak to the Rez Dogs’ grief and survivor’s guilt.

“Cripple Creek” by Buffy Sainte-Marie (Episode 202, “Run”)

The Scene: Jackie and Elora flee in terror from the armed men whose car they just tried to steal.
The Song: An unexpected use for this twangy, joyfully horny song about being reunited with a lover whose kiss is “sweet as any wine” and who “wrap[s] herself around me like a sweet potato vine.” Anders and Harjo “knew we wanted to use that song, but didn’t expect to love it over this scene. It adds to the sinisterness of it all — it’s almost like ‘Dueling Banjos’ in Deliverance.” The juxtaposition of Sainte-Marie’s mouth bow (as she demonstrates in this vintage Sesame Street clip) over the visuals of Elora and Jackie running flat-out through a bunch of hay bales is chillingly disorienting.

“I Love You” by Spacemen 3 (Episode 203, “Roofing”)

The Scene: “I Love You” appears throughout the episode, first popping up in the opening scene where Bear is nervously preparing for his first day working as a roofer.
The Song: Spacemen 3’s woozy confessional love song is one of the more unexpected song-to-episode matches. “Choosing a song by a British druggie underground band from the ’90s is the weirdest pairing of a band with this show!” she says. “I Love You” pops up in the opening, middle, and closing scenes of “Roofing,” its loping bass line and fuzzy guitars functioning almost as the score in a transitional episode for Bear. Hammering asphalt shingles into new construction on a cul-de-sac alongside Cheese’s Uncle Charlie and Daniel’s father could be the start of a life as repetitious as the song’s merry-go-round melody. Thanks to a sincere heart-to-heart conversation with Danny, though, the hazy riffs seem meditative by the episode’s closing scene. Bear is closer to finding his own way. “The way it was used throughout that episode, the vibe it creates — it couldn’t be further from our world, but it works.”

“Funnel of Love” by Wanda Jackson (Episode 205, “Wide Net”)

The Scene: Rita, Bev, Teenie, and Natalie cut loose at the annual IHS conference, striding down the hallway in their hottest snaggin’ looks.
The Song: Tammy Wynette’s classic ballad “Stand by Your Man” was written into the script but didn’t suit the strut-demanding scene. Wanda Jackson’s growly, lusty “Funnel of Love” was Anders’s first suggestion, “and I hadn’t even seen the scene yet, but I knew it was going to work perfectly.” Best of all, Jackson is an Oklahoma artist: kismet!

“Time After Time” by Samantha Crain (Episode 209, “Offerings”)

The Scene: Daniel’s mother, Hokti, updates her approved visitor list after a pivotal visit from Willie Jack and gazes at a photo of her late son taped to her cell wall.
The Song: Anders notes that including Oklahoma singer-songwriter Samantha Crain’s cover of the Cyndi Lauper classic “Time After Time” was a high priority and an expensive one to license. It also turned out to be a near-cosmic bit of serendipity, as Crain’s voice floats over Daniel-centric scenes across two episodes. Her warm, haunting original “Joey” accompanies the Dogs’ memorial for Daniel in the series pilot, while she half-croons, half-belts, “If you’re lost, you can look / And you will find me, time after time,” in the closing moments of season two’s penultimate episode. “I’m not sure if Sterlin linked ‘Joey’ and ‘Time After Time’ in his mind intentionally for both episodes, but I know it was important enough for him to fight for,” says Anders of getting the rights to the latter. Crain’s cover holds an especially tender resonance for Paulina Alexis, who plays Willie Jack; she shared in an interview conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike that her cousin left it playing for her loved ones to find after she died by suicide.

“Early Blue” by F.J. McMahon (Episode 302, “Maximus”)

The Scene: After watching Maximus leave with a social worker and police officer, Bear tends to his new friend’s plants before heading home.
The Song: Another lovely moment of sonic serendipity in an episode that makes a strong case for radical male softness and caretaking, McMahon’s introspective lyrics — “From my window / In the morning’s light, I try to hide from people / But it’s never right, I see my friends at night / And it works out fine” — combine with a conversational, Velvet Underground–inflected vocal to conjure a gentle push-pull between chosen solitude and reaching for community. “It’s really beautiful over such an isolated, existential kind of episode,” Anders reflects. It’s a perfect match with Maximus’s self-imposed isolation and tending of his plants — a.k.a. Star People Food — not to mention his quiet mysticism and yearning for lost friends.

“Washita Love Child” by Jesse Ed Davis (Episode 304, “Friday”)

The Scene: The episode’s closing scene shows the Dogs heading to Sonic for dinner after serving their not-so-onerous punishments at the IHS Clinic.
The Song: Anders’s passion for the driving boogie of “Washita Love Child” is as irresistible as its incendiary guitar licks: “If I could have used more Jesse Ed Davis, I would have.” Name-checking the Washita River and his Kiowa heritage, the Oklahoma native’s semi-autobiographical 1971 song builds to a chorus laced with a full-throated “hi-yaaaah, hey-yaaahh” recognizable from “Stadium Pow Wow.” “Not only is his music just amazing, but he was so important to Rock and Roll,” Anders says. “He played with John Lennon, Eric Clapton, who is on this song, George Harrison, Bob Dylan. He’s the underdog more people need to be aware of.” It’s also a clever sonic on-ramp to the following episode, which flashes back to a crucial day in the lives of a previous generation of Rez Dogs.

“Angry” by The Rolling Stones (Episode 308, “Send It”)

The Scene: Newly renamed Uncle Kenny arrives in his school bus to chauffeur the elder heist to rescue Maximus in time for him to see his dying cousin, Old Man Fixico, one last time.
The Song: Anders had a preview copy of the Rolling Stones’ new album Hackney Diamonds and “was completely blown away by how good it was — I couldn’t stop listening to it.” After playing the album for Harjo, the two decided the catchy guitar crunch and pleading sneer of lead single “Angry” was a perfect fit for “Send It,” where “there’s tons of trouble going on, and we already had a rock thread throughout it.” The Stones aren’t from Oklahoma, but their sound grows from that same fertile soil of “roots and country, blues, indie rock — all the scruffiness that’s changed the course of rock and roll throughout the years.”

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – This Friday will be the community’s first chance to experience the new exhibitions on display at the Visual Arts Center in the Washington Pavilion.

Visitors headed to downtown Sioux Falls for the October Art and Wine Walk are welcome to stop in during the Visual Arts Center’s monthly Free First Friday event and see the new art.

The eight galleries of new work will offer free admission from 5 – 8 p.m.

“We are extremely fortunate to have some of our most talented local artists right here in our eight galleries,” says Jana Anderson, Lead Curator for the Visual Arts Center at the Washington Pavilion. “This collection of inspiring and thought-provoking artwork comes in a variety of formats, so visitors of all ages are bound to see something they love. We cannot wait for the community to enjoy this phenomenal art during a fun night downtown with Free First Friday and the October Art and Wine Walk!”

The Washington Pavilion offered a preview of what each exhibition has to offer:

Say It Loud | Jerstad Gallery | Now – October 27, 2023

In collaboration with the American Institute of Architects South Dakota and the Sioux Falls Design Center, this exhibition spotlights the contributions of women and diverse designers to the state’s built environment. In addition to featuring projects created by 30 local women and diverse design professionals, Say It Loud includes interviews about their experiences in architecture and design.

The Bigger Picture | Shultz Gallery | Now – October 29, 2023

This exhibition delves into the psychological needs of children for their healthy development in society and the repercussions of cultural shortcomings in meeting those needs. Artist Ella Ratliff identifies five fundamental human requirements: identity, social interaction, love, support and security. Her artwork juxtaposes photorealism with a gestural style, highlighting the contrast between fulfilled and unfulfilled needs.

South Dakota Governor’s 10th Biennial | Everist Gallery | Now – November 12, 2023

This traveling exhibition celebrates our state’s artistic excellence and diversity. It’s the 10th and largest biennial featuring 74 works of art, representing 69 artists. There are numerous strong connections to the natural world, some quite solitary images, some ghostly, some humorous and experimental while others seem cast in a dreamlike state. Viewers will experience the wide-ranging and insightfully creative directions being pursued within the arts in our state today.

Obscure Visions: Abstract Photography by Jack Paladino | Gallery 301 | Now – Dec. 1, 2023

The abstract photography of Sioux Falls-based photographer Jack Paladino is driven by chance and serendipity, resulting in one-of-a-kind pieces. Inspired by midcentury artists, his work blurs the line between reality and abstraction. Viewers are invited to find meaning in the forms he creates, which often transcend traditional boundaries.

Reclamation Through Transformation | Egger Gallery | October 6 – February 25, 2024

In this exhibition, Native American students from Flandreau Indian School have reimagined history by creating art from archival materials. Their work is displayed alongside artwork from the Visual Arts Center Northern Plains Tribal Collection, creating connections and promoting native voices and perspectives. The resulting exhibition was co-curated with a Native American student curator that allows for the transformation of those archival materials by re-presenting them as reauthored and reclaimed.

Astrographica: Preparations for Space Exploration | University Gallery | Now – May 31, 2024

Wes Eisenhauer explores the endless expanse of the universe and seeks to capture its raw power, innovation and beauty. A Sioux Falls-based photographer, Wes is inspired by our extraordinary world and aims to document it from a unique perspective and with a sense of wonder. Wes’ immense talents have led him to photograph for NASA, where he was tasked with creating images to help them celebrate Artemis Day across the country.

How to See | Bates Trimble Heartland Gallery | October 6 – April 27, 2024

This exhibition was born out of the spirit of collaboration between two artists who understand the prairie. Tom Dempster and Molly Fulton are South Dakota-based artists working in their respective mediums of photography and acrylic paint. Together their collaborative “photo paintings” speak to an expression of what lies beneath the visual senses of the landscape.

Coming Soon:

Style and Stigma | Contemporary Gallery | October 17, 2023 – April 21, 2024

Style and Stigma brings together the floral and figurative paintings of Geneva Costa and Anna Youngers. This grouping of works draws on methods of traditional realism to create a dialogue between the real and the ideal. Exploring their work together invites the intersection of contemporary commentary and timeless beauty while offering a fresh perspective on the power of realism in contemporary art.

Copyright 2023 KSFY. All rights reserved.

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) – One woman from St. Marys had a unique experience with one of her favorite artists.

Kari Conaway splits her time between California and her native St. Marys.

Conaway is a big fan of Ed Sheeran, who she had the chance to meet in a place that was a little close to home…her living room to be exact.

As a part of his first independent release… “Autumn Variations”… Sheeran recorded a live version of the album in fans’ living rooms…one of which was hers!

She talked about how this rare chance happened upon her.

“I just never shut up about him and I got noticed for it. So, I got reached out to on Twitter I had a DM and they had basically said, ‘Ed is planning something for his fans in the L.A. area, are you available at this time, and if you’re interested, please let us know.’ So, I was like 100%. So, I emailed back and forth [about] what it would be. They told me it was going to be a merch unboxing, so then they had my address and then instead of merch coming, he came in and recorded one of the songs, hung out, and it was the best day of my life.”

Conaway spoke on the singer-songwriter and how his character is one to be commended.

“…The sweetest guy you could ever see. So down to earth, so genuine, so…like, what you see in an interview is how he actually is. Like, I love him.”

This wasn’t the first time Sheeran and Conaway met. The two met back in May at a pop-up for one of the tracks that Sheeran had released, where he signed her ukulele…which he remembered when they met again.

“[I’m] just blown away. I’ll watch a video and think it’s not real, and then in my head I remember it from my perspective, and I was like, no, that actually happened, like that’s…quite insane, and I don’t know what to say about it other than It’s unreal, and it’s like a fan fiction turn to life. Pretty much how it is.”

Conaway was also flown to New York City, where she was surprised with the music video that was filmed in her living room…broadcast in Times Square.

“…It was the video premiere of my video of him coming to my house and it was on the big screen in Times Square, and I got to see it and he surprised me. I didn’t know exactly if he was going to be there or not, or if I was going to see him, but he ended up coming, and that was the big surprise. And it still baffles me that my face was on Times Square like who could say that? That’s nuts!”

During her time in New York, Conaway had the chance to hang out with him. She also gifted Sheeran a bracelet that says “Girl Dad” in honor of him having two daughters, which she says he’s been spotted wearing in interviews and performances since.

“He wore it to like interviews, he wore to the other houses, He wore it on stage at Sofi Stadium and what? And then he… it’s awesome.”

Conaway left off with one final sentiment about Sheeran.

“I hope everyone gets to meet him because he was the best person ever.”

Copyright 2023 WTAP. All rights reserved.

Leaving Dentons

Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (“大成”) is an independent law firm, and not a member or affiliate of Dentons. 大成 is a partnership law firm organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China, and is Dentons’ Preferred Law Firm in China, with offices in more than 40 locations throughout China. Dentons Group (a Swiss Verein) (“Dentons”) is a separate international law firm with members and affiliates in more than 160 locations around the world, including Hong Kong SAR, China. For more information, please see dacheng.com/legal-notices or dentons.com/legal-notices.

Video: A preview of the dance film “Skywalkers,” now playing at O’Hare International Airport. It is a collaboration between P-Top De La Cruz, Wills Glasspiegel and Winfield RedCloud Woundedeye. (Courtesy of “Skywalkers”)

Between the international arrivals and departures at O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 5 move dancers with contrasting styles.

The movement comes courtesy of the film “Skywalkers,” a collaboration between the Chicago West Side collective the Era Footwork Crew’s P-Top De La Cruz and multidisciplinary artist Wills Glasspiegel, a pair WTTW News first introduced you to in September 2021. 

New to their collaborative team is Native American dancer Winfield RedCloud Woundedeye. 

“For the better half of the 1900s, it was illegal to dance the Native dance style,” Woundedeye says. “Laws were put into place to prevent Natives from expressing their culture but it’s had a big resurgence since then.”

He was tasked with connecting the movements of footwork and Native dance.

“Native American-style dance is very close to me because I feel super connected with my people when I dance,” he said. “It was incredible to work with P-Top and the Era, sharing moves and learning the history of footwork, and teaching them the history of Grass dance.”

Both styles of dance have Chicago and American roots, says Woundedeye.

“Footwork originated here and the Grass dance originated not too far from Chicago — in Omaha, Nebraska. That was before Western colonization pushed us west,” he said. “Footworking and Grass dance has a lot of face and feet movement. Grass dance might not be as elaborate, but we still move our feet.”

P-Top said the collaboration was a rewarding one.

“It helped me take footworking to the next level. Our language is dance,” P-Top said. “Seeing the similarities of indigenous style dance when Winfield would break it down, and seeing certain movements that aren’t too far apart — it was a connection. It encouraged me to think outside the box.”

Filmed at the Willis Tower, on the lakeshore at the Promontory Point with the city’s skyline in the background and other locations, “Skywalkers” is set to play on a permanent loop as part of the largest public commission to Chicago artists through DCASE in three decades. 

“We wanted to connect themes between dance and flight,” Glasspiegel says. “Everyone has their own take on what that means.”

It’s also a new stage for footwork, which Glasspiegel says has often been performed in basements and roller rinks.

“Winfield expressed powwows often happen outside of the city, often more rural areas,” Glasspiegel said. “So we want to show that these dances are at the height of the city. They deserve to be on our tallest tours and also ground us too.”

For Woundedeye, this celebration of flight and dance excites him, as he has future aspirations to become a pilot. But that’s not the only place his creative talent lies. He also sews his own regalia, which is described as clothing or adornments that Native Americans wear during powwows or social dances. 

“We don’t call them costumes,” Woundedeye says. “ … For us, this is who we are, it is our identity. We don’t dress up to be something we’re not. When we wear these outfits, it’s the most formal wear that we can wear. The craftsmanship is more intricate than any blazer or pants I’ve ever worn. The original style of Grass dancing wasn’t flamboyant. As Natives, we use this dance in a humble way to convey prayers and thoughts. We use it to show the brilliance of our people.”

“Skywalkers” also includes movement by dancers Ladybug Williams, Steelo Lofton, Ziggy Simone, Litebulb Oliver, as well as female First Nations dancer Kisis. 

“Her dance imitates butterflies, or flight if you will,” Woundedeye says. “The dance you see by her is called the Fancy Dances. It imitates a butterfly flying through the wind.”

Woundedeye said he hopes travelers passing by will see that dance is always evolving.

“As a Native American, … I’m in classrooms, and a lot of people think we’re extinct,” he said. “The installation, at least for Native people when they enter Terminal 5, I hope they see that were still here. Our existence is our resistance.”

Follow Angel Idowu on Twitter: @angelidowu3

Angel Idowu is the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation Arts Correspondent.

This paid piece is sponsored by the Children’s Home Society.

Jon Crane has loved art since he was a child.

“I was always the kid in the back of the class in trouble for doodling,” said the well-known South Dakota artist. “It was just a natural thing.”

Crane grew up in New Jersey. After serving in the Air Force, he decided to pursue a career in art. “I put my time in and have avoided a real job for 47 years now.”

Today, Crane lives with his wife, Gail, in Hill City. Twenty-some years ago he had a gallery in town — now owned by another person — where he did watercolor demonstrations. When he was finished, a friend named Denny McKay would auction off the painting, with the proceeds going to a different charity each year.

One year, the charity receiving the donation was Children’s Home Society of South Dakota. A fundraising campaign for a Creative Arts Endowment was underway to pay for arts education, which was not covered by state funding.

“Denny McKay came to us, and he said: ‘You know, I love the Children’s Home. They’re a great organization. Would you mind if we made this into a bigger event?’” Crane said. The Cranes agreed.

Now in its 17th year, the annual Jon Crane Children’s Home Society Benefit Auction has become a unique signature event in Rapid City.

It has expanded Children’s Home Society’s network of supporters, volunteers and friends. And it has raised nearly $1 million for the Creative Arts Endowment and Children’s Home Child Advocacy Center.

Heart work of Richard DuBois

Crane wasn’t the only prominent South Dakota watercolor artist interested in Children’s Home Society. Richard DuBois, a Black Hills native who taught art at Black Hills State University for 35 years, also had a soft spot for the Children’s Home Society kids.

After his retirement, DuBois continued to teach painting to individuals and groups from his home studio.

And in 2007, DuBois and his wife, Rose, began hosting groups of children from Black Hills Children’s Home.

“We would have a vanload of children come to our home,” Rose DuBois said. “Richard would buy them little art kits that had the paints and the brushes and the aprons and the little water bottles … and taught them how to paint.”

The same year, a handful of DuBois’ painting students created an informal group called Dick’s Chicks. They took classes from DuBois until his death in 2014.

“We made a decision as a group that we wanted to move forward painting together to honor Richard’s legacy,” artist Melissa Wood said.

And out of Dick’s Chicks was born the Dream Team, which was a group of artists who made a commitment to teach art to kids at Black Hills Children’s Home.

“Richard would talk to us about Children’s Home, and so we were aware of the work and how passionate he was about helping these kids,” Wood explained. “And we wanted to pass down what he gave to us so generously.”

Every year since DuBois’ death — except during the pandemic — Dream Team members have volunteered to teach art at Black Hills Children’s Home. Their visits give children special opportunities to express themselves through art and to learn new skills.

Assistant director of schools Tara Chayka saidt children treasure these experiences. “We’ve had kids over the years who have discovered a talent within them that they didn’t even know they had,” she said. “We get to see little artists start to bloom.”

Community of artists, community of support

Many Dick’s Chicks and Dream Team members generously donate work and volunteer for the annual art auction.

Each year, more than 20 artists donate their work to help raise funds for Children’s Home Society. The event includes dinner and an exciting silent auction. Tickets sell out every year.

When the Creative Arts Endowment campaign goal was met, Children’s Home Society brought on a visual arts teacher and music teacher at its two campuses in the Black Hills and Sioux Falls.

“Art helps our kids to heal, to grow and to find themselves,” said Lisa Compton, Sioux Falls Children’s Home art teacher. “It’s that silent voice having an opportunity to come out.”

For the past several years, funds raised from the art auction benefit Children’s Home Child Advocacy Center, a Rapid City-based program providing forensic interviews for children who have been abused or witnessed extreme violence. The program is 55 percent funded by donations.

Through their artwork and their generosity, both Crane and DuBois helped spread awareness of Children’s Home Society and its mission. Their efforts have brought together a community of artists and art lovers who support children through instruction, role modeling and fundraising.

Learn more here about the annual Jon Crane Children’s Home Society Benefit Auction, which was held Sept. 29, and view a video about the event.

Rick Bartow, a contemporary coastal artist and member of the Wiyot tribe of California who died in 2016, is the subject of an upcoming staged reading at Astoria’s Ten Fifteen Theater.

“I am a huge fan of his work,” said Annie Eskelin, executive director of Astoria Visual Arts, who is delighted at the celebration. “He was one of the nation’s most prominent Native American contemporary artists.”

Bartow is the central character in the Ten Fifteen Theater reading, running at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Author Greg Berman and Portland gallery owner Charles Froelick will speak with the audience after the Saturday performance. Their appearance will be moderated by artist Philip Barasch. The gallery will also provide exhibits at the theater, previewing a storytelling theme that pervades their members’ showcase in October.

Bartow was a Native American artist who grew up in Newport. He worked in graphite and mixed media, creating drawings and prints, acrylic paintings, drypoint etchings, wood sculptures and monotypes.

His art features animals like hawks, ravens and eagles, many reflecting Native American transformation stories.

The reading, being performed in person for the first time, is being directed by Danyelle Tinker, executive director of the Ten Fifteen Theater.

Julian Painter appears as Bartow and Connor Swan plays a former art student who switches to a medical career and becomes Bartow’s caregiver, even as his troubles emerge.

To highlight surreal elements in Berman’s script, Bill Honl, Olive Delsol and Deborah Jensen take on multiple characters, including a bear, a coyote and a deer, as well as other caregivers. Rhonda Warnack portrays a circus figure from a Bartow painting, as well as the medical student’s mother.

Painter, who is Native American, savors Bartow’s significance as an Indigenous artist who embraced many styles. “It is interesting to learn about him as I am portraying him,” said Painter, an artist who writes poetry and music. “It is kind of nice to connect with someone who did similar things.”

Bartow earned a bachelor’s degree in art education from Western Oregon University in 1969. His service during the Vietnam War as a teletype officer, who played music to soothe wounded combatants, left him with post-traumatic stress disorder.

In his hometown, he was a guitar and bongo player who wrote songs for his band, Bartow and the Backseat Drivers.

Bartow’s artistic status mushroomed with national recognition after a 1985 Portland exhibit. The content and style of his art changed in his later years as battles with sobriety, mental health and the loss of his wife to cancer, were exacerbated by two strokes.

His work can be found in the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts and the Portland Art Museum.

The state of Oregon owns at least four pieces, displayed at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport and on the main campus of Oregon State University. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian commissioned him to create a cedar sculpture overlooking the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Eskelin, at Astoria Visual Arts, celebrates the title of Bartow’s national work, “We Were Always Here.” A similar phrase, “We’ve existed always,” is adopted by the Chinook Indian Nation.