A new indigenous art gallery in Baltimore is highlighting some of the best Native American artists in our area. Baltimore Center Stage opened the gallery earlier this month in partnership with the Baltimore American Indian Center.Judy Tallwing McCarthey is an Apache Elder and a lifelong artist. She considers her art a form of storytelling.”Anytime I put a bead on my work, that’s a prayer,” McCarthey said.Her work has hung in galleries all over the country, but seeing her piece in the gallery at Baltimore Center Stage is one of her proudest moments.”This gallery, very specifically, is for indigenous artists,” McCarthey said. “It’s recognizing that we are still here. We are still viable. We still have our culture. We still have our history that we know.”McCarthey’s piece is one of several that hang in the new Indigenous Art Gallery at Baltimore Center Stage. The goal is to give Native American artists a place to share their work and their stories. “To our knowledge there is nothing quite like this in the city in terms of another gallery that’s devoted specifically to indigenous art in particular, but also, it’s very rare in the country as a whole to be able to have displays and opportunities like this within a working, living theater in this way that has so much other art happening in this space,” Ken-Matt Martin, the interim artistic director at Baltimore Center Stage, said. Martin said the theater has always done a land acknowledgment to recognize indigenous people who originally lived on the land, but they wanted to take it a step further at the start of this season. “We said sure, we can read a statement before the top of every show, but we would actually like to do something a little bit more in terms of inviting indigenous artists into our space,” Martin said.Joshua Webster, who is part of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, is one of the artists whose work is displayed in the gallery. It’s his first time ever showing in a gallery. “It’s pretty big for my culture, for the Native American people, and then also for the Lumbee people down in North Carolina to be representing all the way here in Maryland,” Webster said. “It just shows that we have a lot of vibrant love and color in us that we are still here to basically spread.”The gallery is open and free to the public during regular box office hours, Tuesday through Friday, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The art is also for sale. Both McCarthey and Webster have already sold their pieces, but it’s not just about getting people to look at the art and like it. It’s also about pushing people to learn. “I don’t want them to just come in and say, ‘That’s a beautiful painting. That’s a beautiful photograph’,” McCarthey said. “I want them to want to know more about the people who did that because by learning that story, you learn a greater story.”Baltimore Center Stage said they want to expand the gallery and showcase more work by indigenous artists. For more information on how you can get involved, visit the following website or email artisticpartnerships@centerstage.org.

The first day of Inauguration Week, celebrating the installation of Brian Bruess, Ph.D., as the first joint president of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, began with a spotlight on the schools’ academia.

Five faculty presentations highlighting community-engaged scholarship and creative work kept the crowd buzzing on Monday night (Sept. 18) at Milk & Honey Ciders in rural St. Joseph. Faculty from the nutrition, English, theater, art and global business leadership departments populated “Flourishing Through Scholarship, Creativity, and Partnership with Our Community” while attendees enjoyed a casual social with drinks and appetizers at the cidery and taproom.

Emily Heying, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., an associate professor and department chair in nutrition, led off the presentations with “From Community to Classroom: Building a Collaborative Research Project on Glucose Response to Indigenous-Harvested Wild Rice.” She has overseen the nutrition department’s undergraduate research course experiences since 2018 and two senior nutrition majors (Kalli Anderson of Hopkins, Minnesota, and Savannah Supan from Rice, Minnesota) took the lead on this research with Heying for their senior capstone projects.

The project came to life out of a co-taught course “Native Food Sovereignty,” that Heying taught the past two years with Ted Gordon Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of anthropology. The course focused on topics including Indigenous communities’ history, agricultural practices, the trauma they endured, and the social determinants of health and food access play a role in their health today. One of the primary Indigenous foods is Manoomin, which is hand-harvested wild rice found locally in Minnesota. It is different than the cultivated wild rice sold in grocery stores. Little research exists regarding the satiety and blood sugar response after consuming Manoomin. Gordon suggested the study, with input from his colleagues and collaborators from White Earth Nation.

Information from the study is important because Indigenous populations are at higher risk for insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes than other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Increasing fiber intake is one way to support managing blood sugar response and manage diabetes. Manoomin has a higher fiber concentration than white rice, but Heying and her students want to investigate whether the blood sugar response differs between Manoomin and other types of rice of varying fiber concentration. If Manoomin consumption can mitigate blood sugar rise after a meal, the knowledge will provide opportunity for a traditional, Indigenous food to contribute to health. The research also will provide opportunities for students to develop communication and data collection skills with participants and data analysis practice. Heying and her students eagerly await the data collection and analysis for the project and gave listeners a sneak peek at what they’re trying to accomplish. (Anderson and Supan will present results of their research next spring at the annual Creating Scholarship & Creativity Day.)

Chris Bolin, an assistant professor of English, followed with a presentation on “Writing Across the Gaps: Community-based Narrative Practice” before participants took a short break to mingle.

Three presentations of creative work wrapped up the evening. A group of CSB and SJU theater students, under the direction of Kaarin Johnston, Ph.D., performed a scene from “Research in Practice: Dead Man’s Cellphone.”

Steven Lemke, environmental artist-in-residence and associate director of The Saint John’s Pottery, followed with “Environmental Art, Mentorship and Vocation at CSB/SJU.” Lemke, who teaches sculpture, architecture and design, produces mixed-media sculpture and installation art that examines residential land use and its impact on the natural environment. Through research, community-engaged practice, and digital fabrication technology, his artwork collectively asks how we locate ourselves within the increasingly built world, thereby inviting viewers to re-evaluate their perspective on these issues through a lens of criticality.

Operating within the context of a liberal arts institution with a rich and dynamic history of environmentally engaged creativity, the work of being an environmental artist-in-residence is to inspire and support undergraduates in discovering their own creative vocations so that CSB and SJU graduates enter the workforce prepared to sustain their creativity. Lemke discussed two recent projects: a 25-day design intensive in which he took part with internationally acclaimed architect Steven Holl in New York, and an ongoing summer research project as a guest artist of the St. Croix Watershed Research Station, part of the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul.

With contributions from his interns, CSB students Mahina Melim, Taylor O’Brien and Josephine (Josie) Meyer, he connected his work to the everyday experience of students through the new Environmental Art Internship Program, which supports Bennies and Johnnies with creative and environmentally focused professional interests through one-on-one mentorship, studio work and career coaching. The initiative reimagines how we mentor undergraduates in the visual arts regardless of major, guiding liberal arts students toward creative vocations across disciplinary boundaries and using practical skills to address urgent issues in our world. 

Frank Plachecki, Ph.D., a visiting assistant professor of global business leadership, then concluded the event with keyboard performances of “Prelude in C Major,” his own arrangement, and “Lake District” (by Staffan Scheja).

The program at Milk & Honey Ciders capped a day that also included campus cleanup events at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s, the first “Explore Campus Hidden Spaces” events – which will continue all week, a peace studies showcase, and the first clue in a community medallion hunt.

Other Inauguration Week events will be every day through the weekend, including Bruess’ inauguration ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday at the Saint John’s Abbey and University Church.

Emily Heying presents background on a research project she and several students are working on regarding a study of Indigenous uses of and benefits from wild rice.

Details

By Native News Online Staff

September 19, 2023

Five time Native American Music Awards winner Robert Tree Cody (Maricopa/Dakota) has walked on. Cody was a gifted Native American flute player, singer, and powwow dancer. He was 72.

Throughout his long career, he released 11 full length solo albums and also teamed up with R. Carlos Nakai, Will Chapman, Tony Redhouse, Hovia Edwards, Reuben Romero, and Janice Marie Johnson. 

Cody was 6’ 9 ½” tall and was affectionately called “Tree” because of his larger than life frame. His traditonal Native American name was Oou Kas Mah Quet, or “Thunder Bear.”

Cody performed and won Best New Age Album at the Second Annual Native American Music Awards for “Maze” which featured contributions by Tony Redhouse and Rob Wallace. At the Third Annual Awards, Robert won Best Latin Recording and Best World Music Recording for “Native Flamenco” featuring renowned Flamenco guitarist Rueben Romero and performed live with him. At the Fourth Annual Awards, Robert performed with Janice Marie Johnson (A Taste of Honey) on their award-winning song, “Until The Eagle Falls.”  Tree would go on to earn a total of 14 nominations in a range of categories and also win Best Male Artist and Best Flutist from the Native American Music Awards.  In 2007, he was also nominated for a Grammy with Will Clipman for the album, “Heart of the Wind.”

On November 19, 2022,” Cody was honored with the NAMA Lifetime Achievement Award during the 20th Awards show in New York. 

“I feel that this is an award that is pretty cool to receive. It takes a lot of work, hard concentration and a lot of history research. I feel very humbled and honored to be chosen for this award,” Cody told O’odham Action News, a bi-weekly publication by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. 

Native American Music Awards President Ellen Bello calls Cody one of the great pioneers to bring Native American flute music into mainstream acceptance. She said he played not only to entertain, but to heal as well. 

“The magic of the flute heals and brings people together. He was at the forefront of the Native American music movement and was the first to merge Flamenco, Mayan and Aztec music with Native American flute music. He was versatile, inventive, creative, funny and yet traditional,” Bello said.  

“He was an educator, mentor, and great storyteller who loved to share his knowledge with others. He was also a great supporter of NAMA, and a good friend. When Tree finally met his true love, Rachel, that’s when he appeared to be his most content.  We share in Rachel’s heartache and loss and offer our condolences and prayers. Tree will be greatly missed but will forever be remembered through the legacy of his music,” Bello continued.

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When Rosalie Favell, a photo-based Métis artist from Canada, picked up her camera to document fellow Indigenous artists at a residency in 2008, she did not expect to begin a major international project. But by 2018, her “Facing the Camera” series had grown to include more than 500 portraits of Indigenous artists and arts professionals taken across Canada, the United States and Australia. 

The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University will present the largest and most comprehensive showing of the series in the US from September 20 to December 3. 

Rosalie Favell: Indigenous Artists Facing the Camera will include over 100 photos from the series, as well as a suite of new portraits of Chicago-area artists and arts professionals taken during Favell’s Block Museum residency during the spring of 2023.

“Favell’s work is a living visual history and a critical intervention in expanding the visibility of contemporary Indigenous artists and arts professionals,” said exhibition curator Corinne Granof. “These portraits speak loudly of the broad diversity of Indigenous people engaged in the arts and cultural community.”

Motivated by an attempt to give her community as much representation as possible, as well as an understanding of Indigenous peoples’ complicated relationship with photography, Favell views each “Facing the Camera” portrait as a collaborative project co-created with the sitter.

“Just one at a time, I just kept taking pictures, I wanted to meet artists, and have that record for posterity,” Favell said. “I use the portrait to acknowledge the agency of the individual in bringing together their own cultural and personal sense of self.” 

Expanded series: Chicago portraits
Recognizing that Chicago is home to one of the largest urban Indigenous populations in the US, the artist was inspired to add artists of the region to her project. Favell and The Block worked with partners from Center for Native Futures, the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative, and the Center for Native and Indigenous Research at Northwestern to invite 20 new sitters to expand the series.  

During her residency at The Block, Favell met with local artists, had conversations with Northwestern students, and concluded the week with a portrait session at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, in Evanston, Illinois. 

Her new portraits, shown for the first time within the exhibition, will include the arts professionals: Annabelle Broeffle, Audra Simpson, Cherish Parrish, Chris Pappan, Courtney Biggs, Debra Yepa-Pappan, Ji Hae Yepa-Pappan, June Carpenter, Kelly Church, Kim Vigue, Le’Ana Asher, Lois Taylor Biggs, Lydia Cheshewalla, Mark M. Jourdan, Michaela Marchi, Monica Rickert-Bolter, Nora Moore Lloyd, Ryan Rice, Sharon Hoogstraten and Vincent Romero.

An opening celebration and conversation with the artist will take place on September 27. Admission to The Block Museum is always free and open to all. Watch: Rosalie Favell at The Block.

About Rosalie Favell
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Favell draws inspiration from her family history and Métis (Cree/English) heritage, she uses a variety of sources, from family albums to popular culture, to present a complex self-portrait of her experiences as a contemporary aboriginal woman. Favell’s art often explores the relation of photography to issues of identity. Over the course of her career, her work has appeared in exhibitions in Canada; the US; Edinburgh, Scotland; Paris; Taipei, Taiwan; and Melbourne, Australia. Numerous institutions have acquired her artwork including the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and Global Affairs Canada. 

Exhibition credits 
“Rosalie Favell: Indigenous Artists Facing the Camera” is curated by Corinne Granof, academic curator at The Block, and Felipe Gutiérrez,  Block Museum 2022–23 interdisciplinary graduate fellow. Major support for the exhibition is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation, the Alumnae of Northwestern University and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Events
The opening conversation on September 27 will feature Rosalie Favell in conversation with Janet Dees and Ryan Rice. The gallery talk on September 30 will be offered by “Facing the Camera” portrait subject June Carpenter. The open house celebration on October 21 will include open galleries, food, music, storytelling and tours with  portrait sitters Mark M. Jourdan, and Kim Vigue. 

*Images above: (top row) James Luna, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2011, Marie Watt, New York, 2010, Shan Goshorn, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2012, Alex Janvier, Banff, Alberta, 2008. (bottom row) Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2012, Chris Pappan, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2012, Me, Rosalie Favell, Melbourne, Australia, 2016, Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie with Amari, Ottawa, Ontario, 2008.