Published on 03 July 2024

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year. This year, NAIDOC Week will run from 7 – 14 July 2024.

You can show your support and get to know local Indigenous makers, artists and performers by joining us at our first-ever NAIDOC Week Festival in Flinders.

Don’t miss this opportunity to try native-inspired canapes, see captivating dance and yidaki meditation (didgeridoo) performances, and buy products and designs directly from our talented Indigenous community. There will also be face painting and a balloon artist for children!

NAIDOC Week Festival

Flinders Community Hub (56 Cook Street, Flinders)
Sunday 14 July, 11am – 1.30pm
Cost: free entry

The Shire will run two free return bus services on the day of the Festival. Route 1 will leave from Frankston (via Willum Warrain, Hastings) to Flinders, and return, and Route 1 will leave from Mornington (via Rosebud) to Flinders, and return.

To learn more about the Festival or to book your space on the bus service, visit: mornpen.vic.gov.au/naidocfest

Our Libraries will also be holding events and activities as a part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations. Find out more by visiting ourlibrary.mornpen.vic.gov.au

What is NAIDOC Week about?

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its beginnings can be traced to the rise of Aboriginal groups in the 1920s which wanted to raise awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Today, NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to celebrate and recognise the rich history, culture and excellence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The theme for this year’s celebrations is ‘Keep the fire burning! Blak, loud and proud’. The fire represents the enduring strength and vitality of Indigenous cultures, while ‘Blak, Loud and Proud’ encourages each of us to listen, learn, and engage in meaningful conversations to help create an Australia where the wisdom and contributions of Indigenous peoples are fully valued and respected.

Did you know? Mornington Peninsula Shire’s draft Reconciliation Action Plan 2024-26is currently open for community feedback until 25 July. Learn more at mornpen.vic.gov.au/rap2024-26

Quotes attributable to Mayor Councillor Simon Brooks:

“We received incredible feedback from community members who participated in our recent Reconciliation Week activities, including a guided walk and meditation session at The Briars and an inspiring reconciliation and treaty talk at Flinders Civic Hall.

“I invite everyone on the Peninsula, whether you’re Indigenous or non-Indigenous, to come together to celebrate local First Nations makers, artists and producers at our family-friendly NAIDOC Week event on Saturday 14 July.”

We accept milestone birthday greetings for ages 1, 5, 13, 15, 16, 18, 21, 30, 40, 50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80 and above. Couples may send announcements of silver wedding anniversary at 25 years of marriage, golden anniversary at 50 years, or 60+ anniversaries. We do not post wedding announcements. News from graduates of higher education only and sports submissions will be accepted as space allows. We welcome all letters from Choctaw tribal members. However, because of the volume of mail, it isn’t possible to publish all letters our readers send. Letters chosen for publication must be under 150 words. We require full contact information. Only the writer’s full name and city will be published. All events sent to the Biskinik will run the month of the event or the month prior to the event if the event falls on the first of the month.

Mail to: Biskinik
P.O. Box 1210
Durant, OK 74702

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Another edition of the Native Pop festival in Rapid City is another chance for artists emerging and established to find an audience.

With styles ranging from traditional to contemporary, every show brings something new.

The artist reception and award ceremony was held at the Suzie Cappa gallery in downtown Rapid City, and the main show continues through Sunday.

James Star Comes Out was named the best in show. A traditional artist, he says his art is an effort to keep touch with history in the year 2024.

“The motivation of that is to revitalize the horse mask among the Lakota,” Star Comes Out said. “Today, you don’t see that very much, so I feel as an artist it’s my obligation to try to bring back some of the things that strengthen us as a people.”

Star Comes Out is an established Lakota artist, and many of his works can be see in the Journey Museum permanent collection. He said these types of events open real doors to up and comers.

“When I was younger, just an emerging artist, I didn’t have opportunities,” Star Comes Out said. “I’m always trying to empower the younger artists, give them opportunity, and you see more of it today. My work is based on cultural ways, stories, history, and that’s where I get my inspiration from.”

But not every artist falls into the “traditional” style. Star Comes Out’s son, Sheldon Starr, offers a unique take on what “indigenous art” can be.

“I would say I’m inspired by American 80s, 90s and 2000s pop culture,” Starr said. “Coming from the Oglala tribe, a lot of that geometric inspiration is in there as well. I’ve been trying to do this professionally for about four years or so – I’m still considered an emerging artist right now.”

While the pastels, high contrast, and geometry might strike the viewer as more “Miami Vice” than Pine Ridge, it’s the inclusion of themes and perspective that allows Starr to stay true to his roots in his work – beginning with the tradition of storytelling.

“A lot of my parents’ stories were from when they were teenagers and young adults in that time period, but movies and music – everything I love comes from that era,” Starr said. “Just steering away from that “stereotypical” stuff I guess you would call it. I respect it a lot, but that’s not what comes out of my creative mind.”

At the same time, other creators are firmly planted in the present day with their work. J. White is a Sioux Falls based artist and owner of the Post Pilgrim Gallery.

“This particular piece is called “The Real Blood Tribe,” White said “This is a painting in regard to the audacity of neo-Nazis coming into our state of South Dakota and imparting themselves on our state capitol building, as well as Deadwood, and being masked the entire time.”

While a making strong antifascist statement, White says the painting also reflects the commodification of stolen indigenous lands, and the power of unity.

“There are seven women on these horses, and they are ready to fight,” White said. “They are vulnerable and strong, and they are the real blood tribe, and shame on you for using those words in vain. I don’t need to worry about the sense of strength. I sit on the shoulders of many strong women and men before me who have given me the courage to stand up and speak exactly how I feel.”

On top of that, White has a challenge for any young artist trying to find that voice.

“If you young people have something to say, I dare you to write it down and I dare you to paint it, and have fun with it,” White said. “Go see art, steal from other artists – everybody does it – and don’t be ashamed.”

That sentiment is reflected by Native Pop executive director Raine Nez.

“It’s really prevalent, especially here in Rapid City to have Natives have their own art, be able to display that and have their place in the art world,” Nez said. “I would say come down to the art market. Learn to talk to people. As much as people don’t think of it as an acquired skill, you have to get out there, you have to be able to approach someone and say hi, how are you. Just start asking questions.”

The art market continues in Main Street Square through this weekend in Rapid City.

For the past 32 years, Native American artists have gathered at the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival to share their art—and something more. Despite their diverse backgrounds and mediums—pottery, quillwork, beading, painting, dancing and more—they share the need to express their identities and preserve their cultures. 

The event last weekend saw nearly 150 artists from across the United States and Canada exhibiting and selling their art. TheStatehouseFile.com gathered just a few of their stories.

DG House (Cherokee tribe NE Alabama), is known for her unconventional paintings of the wildlife of Yellowstone, such as her signature blue bear or her purple moose inspired by a moose’s reflection through a window.

“My entire life changed when I read a poster at the University of Dayton in 1981 that said, ‘Spend your summer in Yellowstone,’’’ she said.

House was initially apprehensive at the thought of navigating a new place on her own.

“I got a job someplace called Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park and got an old Pinto station wagon and an old duffel bag and some cassette tapes of John Denver and Jimmy Buffett, and I drove out to Yellowstone and I was terrified,” she said. 

In 1988, she became a wildlife photographer, and in 1995, she decided to follow her dreams of painting and “embrace Native culture.”

She now is in her 30th year as an artist in residence in Grand Teton and has been part of an organization called Inspired by Yellowstone for more than 12 years.

“The photos you see were taken there [Yellowstone],” she said. “And then every single painting is a real interaction.”

House’s main goal for her art is to create a voice for the voiceless and help people discover their place in nature.

“I think my job is to represent the people in the wildlife that don’t have the predominant voice but to also remind you of how you feel when you’re in your own natural world,” she said.

She started out painting realistic things, much like her photos, but then decided to take a more creative approach, even creating pieces using cardboard.

“Today I say the most fascinating thing to me is that I made up this paint-on-cardboard thing. I didn’t invent painting on cardboard; what I did is I just ripped up boxes. Then I decided what to paint based on the shape it happened to rip to.”

House believes that no matter the medium, art should tell a story that invites the audience in.

“And then of course you make up the story in your head. Who is this? Why do they have that on there? What does it represent? All the rest of that is up to you. That’s what makes good music, art and movies, is you are a part of it.”

Pahponee (Kickapoo tribe in Kansas/citizen band Potawatomi), a full-time artist, began her career in clay making in 1982.

“I started out originally working in clay, and then about 25 years ago, I was introduced to lost wax casting method in bronze making, so now I work in two mediums,” she said.

Pahponee’s pots were displayed on shelves, some with two white buffalo engraved on the front of them.

“For me, I’ve always done art, and back in the early ’80s, I was taken to see two white buffalo, which are sacred animals in our tradition,” she said. “And after seeing those two animals, I was very much inspired to create pottery and make my first white buffalo pot, and that really started my pottery career.”

The key things she wants her art to bring others is joy and appreciation for the work.

“I want them to feel good when they look at the art and enjoy it,” Pahponee said. “For me, I think the art tries to bring out the best in me, so I hope it does bring out the best in other people. I hope it helps them fall in love with it, if it’s a piece that they buy from me, that they truly fall in love and they realize that they are caretaking something that has a lot of history behind it.”

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Ledger art originated in the Great Plains when Native American artists began using “junk paper” that was readily available, like ledgers, account books, certificates and other scrap paper. This happened after their traditional ways of making art on buffalo hide became more difficult as more buffalo were eradicated. The Native Americans of that area and time adapted to their changing environment to preserve their culture and to continue telling their stories through this new medium.

James (left), Adrian (middle), and Alexa Day share their many talents and love of art at the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival last weekend. Sewing, ledger art, beading were all featured in their tent.

A woman eyes some ledger art in the Days’ booth. James Day said they will look for ledgers at estate sales and antique stores and will chose the best pages for their art. He also said there are Etsy shops that sell pages of ledgers already curated.

In this close-up, the original writing of the ledger is more visible. When making ledger art in contemporary times, the type of ledger can be important. “So that ledger art can be kind of like fine wine, I guess—so, you know, like the older the better, but usually more expensive. That’s kind of how it is with the paper. It’s getting harder and harder to find,” said James Day. “It’s getting harder and harder to find like this piece,” he said, referencing a piece with paper from 1884 to 1907. “The penmanship is usually unmatched.”

One of the many talents of the Day family is sewing. They displayed skirts above prints of ledger art at the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival last weekend.

Day family

Ledger art originated in the Great Plains when Native American artists began using “junk paper” that was readily available, like ledgers, account books, certificates and other scrap paper. This happened after their traditional ways of making art on buffalo hide became more difficult as more buffalo were eradicated. The Native Americans of that area and time adapted to their changing environment to preserve their culture and to continue telling their stories through this new medium.

James (left), Adrian (middle), and Alexa Day share their many talents and love of art at the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival last weekend. Sewing, ledger art, beading were all featured in their tent.

A woman eyes some ledger art in the Days’ booth. James Day said they will look for ledgers at estate sales and antique stores and will chose the best pages for their art. He also said there are Etsy shops that sell pages of ledgers already curated.

In this close-up, the original writing of the ledger is more visible. When making ledger art in contemporary times, the type of ledger can be important. “So that ledger art can be kind of like fine wine, I guess—so, you know, like the older the better, but usually more expensive. That’s kind of how it is with the paper. It’s getting harder and harder to find,” said James Day. “It’s getting harder and harder to find like this piece,” he said, referencing a piece with paper from 1884 to 1907. “The penmanship is usually unmatched.”

One of the many talents of the Day family is sewing. They displayed skirts above prints of ledger art at the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival last weekend.

Outside on the Eiteljorg lawn among the vendors and tents, a family of artists displayed their bead and ledger work.

James Day (Bois Forte band of Chippewa), husband to Alexa Day (Anishinaabe, Lakota, Hochunk tribes) and father to their son Adrian Day, who is an award-winning artist, spoke for his family’s work.

“We do everything from ledger art, beadwork, sewing, you know, we kind of dabble in a lot of different aspects of art,” he said.

Ledger art stems from the use of old paper and is historically connected to past tribes.

“So the Plains tribes … they kind of, I guess, get more notoriety and are more known for it as a tribal nation or nations, but really, many or most tribes were privy to or, you know, exposed to ledger art early on because one of the reasons that came about is boarding school days,” he said.

“What they would do is they kind of give the kids junk books, what they deem junk books, because they were, you know, banking ledgers or rolls and they were already there. Then they would bring those home. … And so to us, it was really readily available.”

With traditional ways of making art, such as on buffalo hide, becoming more difficult as more buffalo were eradicated, Native Americans of that area and time adapted to their changing environment to preserve their culture and to continue telling their stories through this new medium. Now artists like the Days continue that tradition.

“Many many ledger artists now just utilize that as a medium to tell a story or show a beautiful piece of art,” Day said.

Lisa Smith and her students at Indy Hula took the stage accompanied by Hoapili, a Native Hawaiian quartet, representing Native Hawaiian dance and music for the first time at the festival. 

Starting in Hawaii, Smith started dancing when she was 4. In high school, she began teaching and made her way to many places, ending up in Indiana.

Smith sees the similarities in the Native cultures from the mainland to her own and always tries to support when she can.

“For us, anytime there’s something that involves Indigenous people, we are there because we are Indigenous people,” she said. “So oftentimes we get asked to dance at a powwow, and we always go because we feel that connection. These are our people; we think about the same kinds of things, we love the earth, we talk about the earth, and we take care of the earth. We care about family, so a lot of values for Native Americans are very similar to our … values. “

For Smith, it is important for her students to know that what they do is not just dancing, it’s culture. 

“They have to understand what they are dancing about, what some of these words mean,” she said. “So it’s not just to get up there and do motions, it has a meaning to it. And they have to know that meaning and not just get up there and do the dance.”

Smith hopes that people in the audience will understand the differences in the Polynesian cultures they represent outside of Hawaii. 

“A lot of people think that we wear grass skirts, and we have to understand that Tahitians actually wear a kind of a grass skirt. Hawaiians wear leaf skirts,” Smith said. “They’re different cultures with different languages, so I’m hoping that they understands it’s not just for this commercialized luau stuff that you see in Party City, it has a traditional background. So again, we’re not wearing costumes, this is actually what they would wear.”

Smith says that when at luaus in the past, she would use that space to educate the audience on the culture and tradition behind what they did. 

“It’s not just entertainment, it’s education,” she said. 

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Karen Hoffman stands beside her beaded rocking chair at last weekend’s Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival. It was titled “Singing for Their Dead,” and she made it as a memorial piece. 

Each raised beaded part of “Singing for Their Dead” has a meaning. On the seat of the chair are frogs; a Menominee elder told Hoffman about frogs singing for their dead, which is what she titled the piece after.

Karen Hoffman (left) and Ann Quis Quis share a love of beading from different times. Hoffman has been beading for over 25 years and Quis Quis for five years, but both use the art to connect to their culture.

“So Native art is powerful. It is beautiful. It is deeply meaningful,” said Hoffman.

“It is healing,” interjected Quis Quis.

“I love that. I love that. Yeah, very healing, Hoffman said “But it has to be … [made] with intention.”

Close-up of one of Hoffman’s long beaded bags. Hoffman hopes events like the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival will shed more light on Native American artists and show they are still present in America. “I grew up in the military, and you know my dad was a flute player and a school teacher. We’re everywhere,” she said. 

Close-up of a smaller bag. “Raised beadwork is an artform born of the Eastern Great Lakes. Our forms and designs  reach back before our origins, are vibrantly alive now, all the while stretching generations into the future,” Hoffman notes on her website.

Karen Hoffman

Karen Hoffman stands beside her beaded rocking chair at last weekend’s Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival. It was titled “Singing for Their Dead,” and she made it as a memorial piece. 

Each raised beaded part of “Singing for Their Dead” has a meaning. On the seat of the chair are frogs; a Menominee elder told Hoffman about frogs singing for their dead, which is what she titled the piece after.

Karen Hoffman (left) and Ann Quis Quis share a love of beading from different times. Hoffman has been beading for over 25 years and Quis Quis for five years, but both use the art to connect to their culture.

“So Native art is powerful. It is beautiful. It is deeply meaningful,” said Hoffman.

“It is healing,” interjected Quis Quis.

“I love that. I love that. Yeah, very healing, Hoffman said “But it has to be … [made] with intention.”

Close-up of one of Hoffman’s long beaded bags. Hoffman hopes events like the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival will shed more light on Native American artists and show they are still present in America. “I grew up in the military, and you know my dad was a flute player and a school teacher. We’re everywhere,” she said. 

Close-up of a smaller bag. “Raised beadwork is an artform born of the Eastern Great Lakes. Our forms and designs  reach back before our origins, are vibrantly alive now, all the while stretching generations into the future,” Hoffman notes on her website.

Each bead sewn onto the rocking chair titled “Singing for Their Dead” represents something, each intertwined into a memorial piece for three important people in bead and quillwork artist Karen Hoffman’s (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin) life—a teacher, mentor and her husband. 

“Beading work, as you know, can really bring out those really long-held cultural beliefs,” Hoffman said to fellow bead and quillwork artist Ann Naibi Quis Quis (San Pasqual/Comanche). “And not to put words in your mouth … It can bring you closer to your culture … To me, that’s exactly what this did, reminding me of all those ways that we traditionally think about death and dying.”

She continued: “My old people helped me to understand that there’s no difference between the past, the present and the future, it’s all connected. When I am sewing, I’m thinking about the husband … I am in the past, as real as it ever was.”

Hoffman hopes that people attending events like the Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival will learn from the experience. 

“I hope they learn respect for indigenous ways of expression, and how we are still here,” she said.

“We’re not just here living in a teepee on the river and we run around in breechcloths and loincloths,” said Quis Quis. “We’re here to accomplish great things just like anybody else.”

Hoffman has been a beading artist for over 20 years, while Quis Quis has been an artist for five years.

“I didn’t grow up in my culture. I didn’t grow up around my culture at all. So it’s very, very new to me,” Quis Quis said. “I’m self-taught, so a lot of trial and error, a lot of doing it and taking it apart.”

Ann Naibi Quis Quis’ grandmother came from the boarding school era, when between 1869 and the 1960’s, “hundreds of thousands of Native American children were removed from their homes and families and placed in boarding schools operated by the federal government and the churches.”

Inside these boarding schools, Native children were stripped of their culture, forced to cut their hair, change their names, give up their traditional clothing and practice Christianity. They were banned from doing anything representing their culture or traditions, even from speaking their Native languages, and physical, sexual and other forms of abuse were common, according to the National Museum of the American Indian.

“My mother is one of eight children. So because of what my grandmother went through in boarding school, she refused to teach any of my mother’s generation about their culture, their history or their language,” said Quis Quis. 

In turn, Quis Quis, as one of four children, could learn nothing from her mother about their culture. 

“If you know nothing previous, you have nothing to teach. So we grew up also knowing nothing of our traditions and our cultures,” she said.

Even with her late start, however, Quis has wasted no time, scoring an award for her work last year, her first time at the festival, as well as passing down her skills to her daughter. 

“I have friends who can dance with your grandmother’s dresses. And if you come from nothing of your culture and you have nothing, I can never say that. I can never dance in my grandmother’s dress,” she said. “Or I can never dance in my mother’s dress. But my grandkids will be able to say, I’m dancing with my mama’s staff that my grandma made—that my Huutsi made her.”

“Sorry, this just makes me so emotional,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. 

“[Huutsi is] how we say ‘grandma’ in my language. My grandkids call me Huutsi, and they someday will be able to say, ‘I’m using these things that my Huutsi made for me and taught me.’ And that’s powerful to me, it’s very powerful.”

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Main Street Square will look a little busier than usual this weekend with the annual Native Pop Art Show coming into town starting Saturday.

The show runs through the weekend and provides native artists from all over the country the opportunity to showcase their artwork. The types of art on display range from musical performances to fashion to visual arts like painting or weaving. The show starts early at 9 a.m. on Saturday with over 30 artists setting up booths.

Musical performances will run throughout the weekend with Saturday closing out the night with a fashion show.

All performers and artists make this happen with one goal in mind, keeping their culture alive.

”It’s important for Native Americans to express their art and to show these different forms of identity because identity is something that has been taken from the community and building that back has been a generations-on-generation effort to redefine our identity and who we can be today as contemporary Native Americans,” Bert Malcom a talent organizer for Native Pop said.

Malcom just started organizing for Native Pop and says he is excited to watch the event grow for years to come.

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The Native Hawaiian Intellectual Property Working Group (NHIPWG) poses for its first meeting at the Hawaii State Capitol. Photo courtesy Hawaiʻi House of Representatives