Waniyetu Aiduha – “Preparing for Winter”
ARTISTS:
Wičhíŋčala LaBatte Nelson
is a student majoring in criminal justice with a minor in Indigenous Studies. They are a self-taught artist whose artwork focuses on channeling Dakota life and our experiences. With no set medium, Wičhíŋčala has been exploring different art styles through the opportunities USC THPO has been providing.
Meadow Gullickson
is a self-taught teen artist who began drawing at the age of 4. She watches various artists on YouTube, so there are many people who inspire her. She loves to experiment with different mediums and enjoys trying new forms of art daily. Meadow focuses mostly on drawing and painting people and wildlife in both watercolors and acrylic paints. She wants to pursue a career in animation after she graduates.
Molly Monzon is a Minnesota Native who has been honoring her talents as a 17th century dressmaker and beadwork artist, whose love for artist started in drawing portraits. Her works of art have been featured at the USC 2023 powwow.
Talon Cavender-Wilson
While some metalwork does appear within Dakota traditions in the form of copperwork, ironwork is not an artform that Dakota people had access to until comparably recently. Ever since I was a little kid, I have always wanted to work with metal. The idea of taking such a strong durable material and shaping it to your own desires is incredibly appealing. Not to mention the fire you get to play with along the way.
After spending years studying traditional blacksmithing in Scandinavia, a lot of what I like to try and do is figure out where this newer medium fits within Dakota culture and style. Where is it appropriate to introduce iron into Dakota designs and patterns? Where can things be changed or adjusted to better suit the material? Should these things be done at all? While I don’t pretend to have the answers to any of these questions, I think it is important for indigenous peoples to have a discussion amongst themselves as to where to draw the lines between cultural evolution and cultural preservation. And it is a conversation I am eager to take up within the context of my work.
