5 Plain Questions

On the 30th anniversary of the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute, host Joe Williams reflects on his association of the program starting in 1993 in a deeply personal story and tribute to the program and artist, friend, and mentor Robert Penn.

Prairie Rose Seminole is a citizen of the Three Affiliated Tribes of ND, descendant of the Sahnish/Arikara, Northern Cheyenne and Lakota Nations.

Seminole serves as a political consultant and coach, and policy analyst. They also serve as an Indigenous theological advisor and speaker. More recently,Prairie Rose Seminole served as the American Indian Alaska Native Program Director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, serving American Indian, Alaska Native communities around the United States as an educator, and advocate, deconstructing colonial systems of oppression.

Seminole lives and works from White Shield ND, with her partner, their ten horses and seven country dogs.

Seminole has served on the Fargo Human Relations Commission in Fargo, the Midwest Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and currently sits on the advisory council to the Olamina Fund and the boards for Humanities North Dakota, I Vote For, the Midwest Advisory Council for the Innocence Project, board member for the Native American Coalition of North Dakota.

Lyle Hudson is an educator, he's a citizen of the Navajo Nation, or more accurately, the Diné. A first grade teacher from a family of educators. He's an individual who practices gratitude the first spouse we've had on the podcast. Lyle has dedicated his career to not just educator our youngest of students, but to model what it is to be a great role model.

Don Anderson is a citizen of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, he’s a Behavioral Health Professional at Circle of Nations School in Wahpeton ND. He’s of the very few Native American men in the United States that has his bachelors of Social Work.

Don is one of the most remarkable individuals I know. In my past work career working at Circle of Nations School we addressed numerous complicated and hard situations. His approach to problem solving came from a place that you cannot learn in school. His youth, his background, and his training makes him one of the most valuable community members I know.

We will not have an episode this week due to the passing of my father, Joe Williams. We'll be back next week with more new episodes.

Joe Williams

Waćiŋyaŋpi Wicaśta

Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ Dakota

28 September 1934 - 10 May 2021

Athena LaTocha, born in Anchorage Alaska, and currently living in New York City, this Hunkpapa Lakota and Ojibwe artist creates artwork that fills entire walls that are large enough to hold her unique peaces. Two years ago I was fortunate enough to witness a landscape she created for the Plains Art Museum in a residency she created. But when I say landscape, this isn’t a traditional Romanticism one would assume, but a created from a perspective and use of material one would not expect to see.

But what makes Athena so interesting, is the way she looks at the world beyond what is just there. It’s hard for me to articulate so let’s jump into this interview with Athena.

Links:

https://athenalatocha.com/home.html

https://plainsart.org/exhibitions/athena-latocha/

https://www.fridmangallery.com/land-escape

https://mailchi.mp/nyfa/nyfa-news-law-and-the-arts-a-free-resource-series?e=afe0c02aae

I want to introduce you to Waŋbdí Wašté. This Ihanktonwan Nakota is a citizen of the Yankton Sioux Tribe is a musician and filmmaker. Now, it is said that the backbone of any band is the drummer. They keep that beat that can either make or break any band, and as Ringo Starr once responded if he wanted a metronome, “He was the metronome! That means that Waŋbdí was the backbone to the greatest Native American rock band that ever was, Indigenous. But to limit our perception of her as just an musician falls short of her creative world. She is an artist, a filmmaker, a producer, and activist. She is a member of Black Owl Society, a blues/rock band that was created by her brother Buffalo Man in December 2010, with a focus on creatively bringing more awareness about indigenous oppression.

I am so honored and so excited to share with you this most unique conversation with Waŋbdí.

So let’s jump into this interview with Waŋbdí.

Your link to Black Owl Society:

https://linktr.ee/Blackowlsociety

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackowlsociety

IG: https://www.instagram.com/black_owl_society/

Micheal Two Bulls is a mixed media artist. He's a graduate of IAIA in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a CAIRNS Research Fellow, and a member of The Wake Singers.

Join us in this fantastic 1/2 hour.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/mtwobulls/

The Wake Singers on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thewakesingers/

The Wake Singers on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEqoJbGexePR-mlf0b7ArEQ

I want to introduce you to Andrea Carlson. She’s a citizen of the Grand Portage Ojibwe, and is a painter & screen printer based in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, though currently lives in Chicago Illinois. She received her bachelor of arts at the University of Minnesota in 2003 and an MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2005.

I think what makes Andrea so interesting is her ability to address the relationships of Indigenous artists and museums. She recognizes and addresses the historic problems that institutions like museums with their colonial roots and their detrimental effects on Indigenous people, but also how Indigenous artists are now taking control of the narrative and reshaping the art landscape. She also talks about the concept of Indigenous Futurism, which I find so absolutely incredible.

You can find a link to her current works and representation at Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Link: http://www.bockleygallery.com/artist_carlson/index.html

Craig Howe, founder and Director of the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS), earned a Ph.D. in architecture and anthropology from the University of Michigan. He served as Deputy Assistant Director for Cultural Resources at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and Director of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History at the Newberry Library in Chicago. Howe has authored articles and book chapters on numerous topics, including tribal histories, Native studies, museum exhibitions, and community collaborations. He has developed innovative tribal histories projects and creative museum exhibitions, lectures on American Indian topics across the U.S., and provides professional development and cultural awareness training to schools and organizations. Howe was raised and lives on his family’s cattle ranch in the Lacreek District of the Pine Ridge Reservation where he is designing and building Wingsprings, an architecturally unique retreat and conference center that is featured in New Architecture on Indigenous Lands. He is a citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

You can find CAIRNS at the link below.

https://www.nativecairns.org/