LAC LA BICHE – Her unique artwork has been on display at several local shows in recent months, and the current Native Arts and Culture student at Portage College has even hosted some art workshops for community members since moving to Lac La Biche from Grimshaw. 

For Soul Dachuk, her artwork is about self-expression and preserving her Indigenous heritage. 

Dachuk enjoys working in various Indigenous art forms, and makes items such as beaded earrings, bracelets, ribbon skirts and dreamcatchers. She is also fond of creative writing, singing, painting, and sculpting. 

“Making art or doing crafts is important to me because it is my legacy, it is the very essence of who I am, who I will become, and who I will be remembered as,” Dachuk told Lakeland This Week. 

Dachuk also assists her mother in teaching Indigenous art workshops in communities surrounding her hometown in northwestern Alberta. She has also done three workshops since arriving in Lac La Biche to start her studies. 

“I do workshops on how to make dreamcatchers, often harvesting the natural materials needed weeks before the actual date, which is always fun,” she stated. 

Finding inspiration  

With regards to how this artist goes about starting a project, she usually finds herself inspired either by something she has read, dreamt about, seen, or felt on an emotional level. Once an idea takes shape, the next step involves brainstorming and thinking of how she will present her piece to have the greatest impact on a viewer.  

“Then I bring it to life with any medium of my choosing,” she said.  

Since childhood, Dachuk has been highly creative, and as she got older, her arts and crafts became her greatest form of self-expression. 

“My art allowed me to convey my emotions without having to utter a word and create connections with people in ways I never could have imagined,” she said.  

Dachuk describes her artistic tendencies as a family tradition. Growing up, she watched her grandfather and older brother making art. Sitting next to them as they went about drawing in sketchbooks, or sculpting things out of a variety of materials, she took it all in, and before long, she started a sketchbook of her own.  

While she was still in high school in Grimshaw, Dachuk taught art to elementary school students. Most of the classes, she said, were done during specific Indigenous awareness events. She also went into classes and taught the basics of traditional dancing, jigging, songwriting, and creating dreamcatchers.  

“I always enjoyed those experiences, and often get told I would make a great teacher,” she said.  

“My favourite part of teaching in schools is seeing young children show interest in what they are doing, and problem-solving instead of giving up.” 

Once she has completed the Native Arts and Culture program, Dachuk hopes to become a knowledge keeper, preserving and passing on the traditional Indigenous art forms she has learned to future generations. Dachuk also would like to eventually earn a steady enough income through her future endeavours to create Indigenous-based programs to provide relief to people who are struggling.  

The young artists says her family and her recent studying at Portage has helped make her a better artist and better person. Her current schooling has offered so many new ways to spark not only her creativity, she said, but also satisfy her thirst for knowledge.  

“My style has become more confident and reflective of who I am, and the person I would like to become,” she said.  

Working around her busy college schedule, Dachuk hopes to host more community workshops in the coming months.  

The Postmark Center for the Arts will be featuring a group exhibition of talented artists from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, with an Opening Reception scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, from 5 – 7 p.m.

The exhibition will be displayed both in the Postmark Gallery and Vault Gallery, with artwork in a variety of mediums, sizes, and themes.

Exhibiting artists showcasing work include:

• A selection of hand-painted drums by artist Donny Stevenson.
• Founder of brand Generational Trauma, designer Isiah Corwin combines popular iconography with Indigenous symbolism to create designs that represent Native Peoples.
• Weavings and beadwork by artist Joyce Starr.

• Digital painter Kim Saladin often works with imagery of the Muckleshoot tribe in daily life.
• Original weavings from artist Gail White Eagle.
• Intricate beadwork from artist Julie James.

• Artists Keith Stevenson and Tyson Simmons, who work in a variety of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional media, will be showcasing their carvings and prints.
• Sam Obrovac, who works in a variety of media, will display artworks that draw from traditional Pacific Northwest and Coast Salish design.

Many of these talented artists had a hand in the creation of the carved cedar Welcome Figure that stands proudly outside the front of the Postmark Center for the Arts and was unveiled during the Grand Opening of the renovated building.

“The City of Auburn is thrilled to be partnering with these talented artists to represent both Muckleshoot culture as well as the diversity of their contemporary art practices,” officials said.

The Postmark Center for the Arts is located at 20 Auburn Ave. | Auburn, WA 98002:

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A Southeast Alaska Native artist is finding new fame this year after one of the largest coffee brands in the world picked up on her talents.

Alison Bremner, a multidisciplinary Tlingit artist from Juneau, is gaining new exposure this year with the reveal of Starbucks’ Artist Collaboration Series cups and tumblers. Bremner’s Indigenous art is part of the series, which showcases independent artists’ work from around the world.

Bremner’s work featured three unique designs on Starbucks cups, which were announced this week.

“It’s been such a joy to see them out, to see them used, like to see the reception that they’re getting,” Bremner said. “It’s just been fabulous.”

Bremner is the latest Alaska artist to have her Indigenous artwork prominently featured on a national scale, following up on Alaska Airlines planes and U.S. Post Office stamps inspired by fellow Juneau artist Crystal Worl. Worl’s artwork has also been used to create the behemoth mural adjacent to Anchorage’s City Hall.

The official launch date was Jan. 3, with the first media release coming Jan. 8, but Bremner said a fan post on social media with a photo of her cups helped them go viral on the internet.

“It had like, over 22,000 likes the last time I saw it, and so a lot of the stores in Alaska are already sold out,” she said.

Bremner said she’s even heard of folks in Lower 48 states like Texas and Florida wanting a piece of the merchandise sale.

“People found out about them kind of immediately, and I have heard of stores telling people that if you want to get those cups, you had to have been here at 5 a.m. when we opened,” she said.

“It’s been really cool to see just how ‘nationwide’ nationwide really is, and I like hearing from folks all over the country. It’s been really amazing.”

The artist collaboration series by Starbucks debuted in efforts to celebrate and elevate the “diverse voices and stories in its communities,” according to company officials. Starbucks said Bremner’s work is the fourth to be featured in the series.

Born and raised in Juneau, Bremner attributed her inspiration to do art to her parents — her father is from Yakutat and her mother is from the Seattle area — and two mentors whom she learned the art of formline from; David Robert Boxley and his brother David Albert Boxley. Both brothers are recognized Alaskan artists whom Bremner worked with as part of a four-year apprenticeship.

Since formline adheres to a rigid set of rules that defines its characteristics, Bremner said she personalizes her artwork by superimposing floral patterns into the spaces between lines.

She also appreciates the wider recognition that Tlingit art and Alaska Native styles on a broader level are getting, comparing the Southeast traditions to much more well-known Native American artwork in the Southwest United States.

“Formline isn’t quite there yet, which is like, a blessing in a sense where it doesn’t get appropriated on a wide scale,” she said. “But it’s been really wonderful to have something that’s so specialized to Alaska and the Northwest coast be shared all over.”

Bremner said Starbucks first took notice of her art about two years ago when the company’s Instagram account followed her own Instagram account. After initial discussions about collaborating, Bremner said months went by before Starbucks representatives reached out with the idea of using her designs on merchandise.

The ideas for all three designs began on paper, Bremner said, which she then transferred to the digital sphere, using computer programs to recreate her designs exactly.

From there, Starbucks creators were able to transfer that imagery onto a three-dimensional space, leading to the official debut of Bremner’s creative designs on a national level.

“It’s just a thrill to have mine showcased on such a massive scale.”

Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.

LAURINBURG — The Arts Council of Scotland County (ACSC) has a new endeavor for the new year. They have decided to showcase a different local artist every month.

The intent is to support local artists and allow citizens to experience art from a variety of genres.

The series opened Thursday featuring artist Marcus Dunn. Dunn, a Pembroke native who is part Tuscaroran, is a painter whose works focus primarily on Native American life and people. He describes his style as realism with a little abstract. His work is haunting and poignant as he specifically uses it to illustrate the effects of forced assimilation on Native youth. It’s a story he doesn’t want people to forget.

“The 20th century Indian boarding schools resulted in Native youth being forcibly removed from their people and their culture. They were put in a foreign situation and displaced of their identities all in the name of cultural assimilation,” he said.

Dunn started drawing as a young boy. He credits his older brother, who used to love drawing, and comic books for his initial interest in art. As he got older, he was also inspired by renowned artists like Da Vinci and Michelangelo. He took up painting when he was in art school.

His art education includes Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting, a B.F.A. in Studio Art from the Institute of American Indian Arts, and an M.F.A. in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

In addition to painting, Dunn also teaches Art at Richmond Community College.

Anyone interested in being featured as Artist of the Month should contact the Arts Council of Scotland County at 910-277-3599.

“We want to include many genres of art. We’d love to have sculptors, quilters, pottery, etc. The artist can sell pieces. It’s good exposure for them,” Director Olivia Fitzgerald said.

For future Artist of the Month info, check the website scotlandsacs.org or Facebook.

On Saturday, January 6, around 1,000 people crowded into the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff, Arizona, to remember Indigenous activist Klee Benally.

Leona Morgan is a Navajo activist and longtime friend of Benally. She spoke at the celebration of his life.

“I worked with Klee very closely on fighting the Grand Canyon uranium mine. I have so many banners that Klee painted that I take around the world fighting nuclear colonialism. His last request to everyone was to put their bodies on the line in front of the trucks in front of the machinery,” said Morgan.

In his 48 years, Benally channeled his creative energy into films, music, and writing. When Benally died on December 30, 2023, he was still working on many creative projects. He posted videos on social media, engaged in civil disobedience, and appeared at public demonstrations.

He often expressed his beliefs with a guitar in his hand.

In a video for Song of the Sun from 2013, Benally stomped in the dirt and played his guitar in front of Red Butte, Arizona, the site of a proposed uranium mine.

Song of the Sun

Our mother aches
Iron claws dig until she breaks
And she bleeds for this
How much is enough?

I remember listening to songs of the sun
For all those, whose breath was stolen
Whose future was taken away
Who learned too late

And so we sing again
To the house of dawn
There are no words,
No words that can right these wrongs.

Benally was “doing the work of four to five people at once”

Klee Benally grew up in the Navajo Nation on Black Mesa. He championed many causes in the Flagstaff area. He fought against a ski resort’s use of wastewater to make snow on the San Fransisco Peaks near Flagstaff. The peaks have religious significance to thirteen tribes, including the Navajo, Hopi, Havasupai, and Zuni.

Benally also organized efforts to help unhoused people in the city. He wrote songs and books on the importance of tribal sovereignty and the value of Indigenous culture.

Morningstar Gali is an activist in Flagstaff who helped organize the celebration of life in Flagstaff.

“Within his 48 years, he was able to live many lifetimes,” said Gali. “He was doing the work of four to five people at once. He was doing performance art, and making jewelry, and making music, and writing his book, and working on his video projects—countless projects that he was so dedicated to.”

Benally dealt with health issues in recent years. Even though he was in and out of the hospital towards the end of 2023, he released a new book titled No Spiritual Surrender: Indigenous Anarchy in Defense of the Sacred, and he designed and produced a board game called Burn the Fort.

In the game, white colonial settlers are the villains. Players assume the role of historic Indigenous warriors battling to stop the invaders.

“Colonizers have built a military fortress and are waging a brutal invasion of your lands,” Benally says in the trailer for the video game. “Can you prevent their wagons from bringing supplies to the fort and burn it to the ground before the train reaches the golden spike?”

Benally released the first edition of the game just a few weeks before he died.

Leona Morgan says Benally used every minute of the time he had in this life.

“In his health condition, Klee was working pretty much around the clock. When we would have meetings, he just had this urgency. I think he was aware of his own time because the amount of work that he put out this year is just incredible,” said Morgan.

The celebration of life in Flagstaff was a chance for family and friends to honor Benally. Actor and filmmaker Norman Patrick Brown highlighted the importance of the grassroots causes to which Benally had devoted his life.

“We lose a warrior; what do we do? We take his place. Stand, and rise, and fight. We lose a warrior; what do we do? We pick up his spear. Stand and fight. Someone had told me, ‘There’s never gonna be another Klee Benally.’ I said, ‘No. There’s going to be hundreds of Klee Benallys,’” Brown said.

Benally’s work lives on through hundreds of videos and songs. In 2019, Benally recorded a series of videos showcasing his songwriting.

One of those songs was She Was a Mountain, which honors Navajo matriarchs who resisted relocation from Black Mesa in the 1970s.

The song is an excellent example of the life that Klee Benally lived and what he stood for.

She Was a Mountain

It was the words she didn’t say 
She sang the sun down every day 
Into the silence, shouting 
And when they came to move her, 
She was a mountain

It was compromise she wouldn’t make 
Sowing resistance, every day 
With every seed planted, 
They couldn’t move her 
Because she was a mountain 

Oh, Katherine get your gun 
Oh, Roberta sing your song 
Oh, Pauline cut the wire 
Oh, Mae start the fire

This story is part of Voices From the Edge of the Colorado Plateau. Voices is a reporting collaboration between KSUT Public Radio and KSJD Community Radio. It seeks to cover underrepresented communities in the Four Corners. The multi-year project will cover Native, Indigenous, Latino/Latina, and other communities across southwest Colorado.

Explore more Voices stories on the KSUT website.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – A new bust will soon be on display at the State Capitol and the Nebraska Hall of Fame.

Civil rights leader and Omaha-native, Malcolm X, will be portrayed by a Lincoln artist.

Nathan Murray was selected amongst national artists to convey the Omaha native who will become the first African American in the Nebraska Hall of Fame. Since then, Murray has spent hundreds of hours perfecting the details of the historic figure.

It’s bigger than just art for Nathan Murray, it’s an opportunity to educate Nebraskans on who Malcom X was.

“I hope they also can engage with the piece and that it’ll create interest in them learning a little bit more about what he did, what he stood for, and how important the work was,” said Murray.

Murray started the project in March by studying Malcolm X closely to understand the little details.

“I have to look at lots of photos and just study the dimensions of the face in order to capture that likeness, because that’s one of the hardest things to do is to really make something look like a person,” said Murray.

With a person as notable as Malcolm, it was important for Murray to be intentional on how he is posed.

He spoke with Malcolm’s daughter, in addition to others, on her desire that her father be portrayed doing the work of God.

“So originally, I had wanted to put Malcolm in a thoughtful pose. But after winning the commission, I came up with the idea of just bringing it out, like he’s in dialogue with the people that are looking at it,” said Murray.

The clay artist of 15 years wanted to depict Malcolm X in the stage of his life after he returned from Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

“I think that, from my opinion, his eyes were opened a little bit and, and he, he just came back, willing to work with anyone he wanted to continue the work he wanted to continue that fight for, for equality and justice,” said Murray.

Facial hair became a part of the activist’s signature look once he returned to the U.S.

What starts as wet clay will eventually become bronzed for its final state.

Patience has been a necessary skill for Murray during this process.

“So basically, if a crack starts happening, it means that it’s not just on the outside, usually, it’s, it’s usually all the way on the inside. So, there was a point where I had to just take the arm off, and I had to re kind of work the clay, and then stick it back together,” said Murray.

One of Murray’s favorite quotes from Malcolm X stays with him as he works on the piece.

I believe in human beings and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.

Malcolm X will be the first African American inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame.

“When kids come to the State Capitol, they see all these busts representing these important Nebraskans. So, I think it’s really important, you know, that people will see somebody that looks like them, you know,” said Murray.

Once the piece is complete, it will be on display to view in the Nebraska Hall of Fame starting tentatively in May, Malcolm’s birth month.

You can learn more about Murray’s art on his Facebook page and Instagram @nathanmurraystudios.

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Copyright 2024 KOLN. All rights reserved.

The transgender advocacy organization Safe Haven Maryland released a statement Sunday night, Jan. 7, announcing it was holding a “Rally for Justice: Demanding Accountability for Meghan Lewis,” at 8 a.m., Monday, Jan. 8, outside the Harford County, Md., courthouse to protest what the group believes to be the mishandling by prosecutors of the Dec. 27 murder of Lewis, a beloved transgender woman.

Police in Bel Air, Md., where Lewis lived, said witnesses reported she got into an altercation with a man named Brian Delen, 47, who was delivering food outside her condominium building after he reportedly misgendered her by calling her “sir.”

Police said Lewis allegedly yelled at Delen when he started to drive off in his car. WBAL TV News in Baltimore reports that court documents say Delen then got out of his car, pulled out a gun, and fatally shot Lewis.

The documents say Delen immediately after shooting called 911 and surrendered to police, who found him in possession of a semi-automatic pistol for which he had a valid permit, according to WBAL

The Maryland Safe Haven statement says the group called the rally outside the courthouse at 20 West Courthouse Street in Bel Air to protest, among other things, a decision by prosecutors with the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office not to classify the incident as a hate crime.

The statement says Safe Haven Maryland and its supporters at the rally would also be protesting a decision by Harford County District Court Judge Susan Hazlett to release Delen on his own personal recognizance until at least the time of the next court hearing scheduled for Jan. 25. The judge ordered him to be held in home detention with a GPS monitoring device.

Court records show Delen has been charged with Second Degree Murder, Assault-First Degree, and Firearm Use/Felony-Violent Crime. Some transgender activists have said he should have been charged with First-Degree murder.

“We call upon the community, local law enforcement agencies, the state’s attorney’s office, and other relevant authorities to join us in our pursuit of justice for Meghan Lewis,” the Safe Haven statement says, which was released by Safe Haven Executive Director Iya Dammons. “We request meetings with officials to discuss the case, present evidence, and express our concerns about the handling of the investigation,” it says.

In what it describes as a “Demand for Accountability,” the statement declares:

• Hold the state’s attorney’s office accountable for not charging the murder as a hate crime, despite evidence suggesting it was motivated by bias or prejudice.

• Call for transparency and an explanation from the state’s attorney’s office regarding their decision-making process.

• Demand a thorough review of the handling of the case by law enforcement agencies, including any potential mishandling or negligence in the investigation.

In response to a request by the Washington Blade for comment, the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office released a statement Monday morning saying the case remains under “thorough investigation, to examine all evidence and determine what additional charges are appropriate.”

The statement points out that the State’s Attorney’s Office requested that Delen be held without bail pending trial and questions regarding how the decision was reached to release him on his own recognizance “should be directed to the judiciary,” meaning the judge who made the release decision.

“The evidence in this case will be thoroughly evaluated in the same manner as any case presented to our office for prosecution and as always, the State’s Attorney’s Office remains committed to seeking justice,” the statement concludes.

The Harford County Office of the Public Defender, which is serving as Delen’s defense counsel, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Thousands of Indigenous artists gather outside the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, selling their homemade and handcrafted items while sitting on the ground.However, with bitterly cold temperatures posing a concern for the vendors’ well-being, a local business, 4KINSHIP, extended a helping hand. They offered tables, chairs and space heaters for the artists, but the board, museum director and committee of artists declined that offer. “Why can’t we as a collective here in Santa Fe accommodate these artists to sell on tables to give them sufficient heating,” Thomas Coriz, a Kewa Pueblo silversmith and former member of the Native American Artisans Portal program, said. “It’s called Equal Opportunity. I just really am trying to advocate for the vendors here.”Coriz’s goods are sold at 4KINSHIP, the store offering shade, tables, chairs, and heaters — amenities the Native American Portal Chairman Maya Pino says — artisans as a whole — don’t want.”I asked everyone, ‘are you wanting tables?’ They expressed that they did not want the tables and that this was our tradition as a program,” Pino said.She says selling and working on the floor is not degrading. “That’s what us as Native American artisans prefer,” Pino said. “That’s our long-standing tradition.” Cortiz sees it differently.”I see it as systematic oppression. It’s allowing a traditional space here in Santa Fe to stay on the ground for who knows how many years because they’re preserving the image,” Cortiz said.Pino says she’s open to learning more about how Coriz and the 4KINSHIP team can offer heaters.”We can sit down and have meetings, bring in the portal coordinator, Billy, the director, and find out where we are and what steps we need to take next to make it a reality,” Pino said.For now, Pino says she and the committee representing the artisans are staying grounded in tradition.”My grandmother sold here, my parents sell here. I knew what I was getting myself into and I’m very proud to be a part of this program,” Pino said.The president of the board of regents of the museum remains open to change, stating that they would welcome a conversation if and when the portal vendors and their committee desire rule adjustments. As the clash between tradition and temperature persists, the Indigenous artists remain grounded in their heritage, navigating the delicate balance between preserving culture and adapting to modern challenges.