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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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The power to dream, the power to achieve
Wednesday 09 May @ 13:40:04 |
 by BETSY MOWRY
Last Friday night the winning entries in the 2006 Native American Student Art Competition opened at the Ancient Traders Gallery in Minneapolis. Held by The Office of Indian Education and the U.S. Department of Education, the competition celebrates Native American values and documents the success of education in Indian communities. Work was selected from over 1,398 submissions from American Indian and Alaskan Native communities, grades pre-kindergarten through 12. Student winners represent 17 tribal nations including Ojibwe, Hochunk and Dakota.
 The 2006 competition theme, The Power to Dream, The Power to Achieve, reflects the promise and importance for Native youth of pursuing an education. The student pieces range from richly figurative to vividly realistic. Though ability and technique are indicative of each grade range, all of the pieces present thoughtful compositions that are clearly conceived and deeply meaningful.
Seneca Love of the Penobscot Nation from Bangor, Maine, won first place for grades 3 to 5. “Sweet Dreams” is an admirably rendered lithograph and watercolor (for a 5th grader). Presenting a brown bear, a raven, a feather and a Native American in regalia, it has a dream-like and mythical quality and demonstrates pride in the Native American tradition.
The 19 pieces on display share commonalities that reflect a keen knowledge and dedication to culture. Symbolic figures such as the dream catcher, feathers and animals appear in many of the pieces, which also incorporate beliefs from the past, present and future. Overall the student work is extraordinary, and the quality makes the exhibit engaging and evocative.
Stephanie Hollis is a high school senior from Woodward, Okla,affiliated with the Cherokee and Blackfoot tribes. In her first-place work, “The Power to Dream,” Hollis paints in acrylic with a light hand, creating a beautiful, almost watercolor-like effect. She shows exceptional skill in her portrait of a young woman who envisions various career paths. Adeptly depicting the human form, Hollis demonstrates strong ability as an artist, and the composition clearly encapsulates the theme of the exhibit.
According to Heid E. Erdrich, curator of Ancient Traders Gallery, The Power to Dream reveals that even young students see the connection between dreaming and achieving. “Perhaps some of these children come from traditions that value dreams as highly as waking experience. The artwork seems to say we must honor our dreams in order to succeed.”
The winning works have been exhibited nationwide at prestigious sites such as the U.S. Department of Education, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and the Oklahoma History Center. Ancient Traders will be the final public show. Entries were judged by staff from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, as well as the Office of Indian Education on the basis of originality, relationship of the artwork to the contest theme, creativity, composition and control of materials.
“Many of these images we might expect in any student art competition with an education theme, but these artists are kids from Native American communities, and their art shows their cultural connections,” says Erdrich. “These works remind us that for American Indian people, recognition of success within the culture, the earning of a feather, stands equal to mainstream culture’s emblems of success.” ||
The Power to Dream runs through June 9. Ancient Traders Gallery is located at 1113 E. Franklin Ave., Mpls. Gallery hours are Wed.–Sat., noon to 6 p.m. For more information call 612-870-7555 or visit aindc.com.
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