Exhibit features Blackfeet artists

Stumptown Art Studio’s current exhibition of 13 Blackfeet Nation artists is a great way to learn about Blackfeet culture and art.

Talking sticks, miniature replicas of Blackfeet traditional items, photographs from Indian Country, bead work featuring bison bone beads, ledger art, folk art, all are represented, along with the very personal interpretation each artist brings to their work.

World renowned artists like Valentina LaPier, whose work is sought internationally for private collections, sits beside up and coming artists like Sammy Jo Bird, whose youthful graphics and choice of color define her own artistic rendition of what it means to be a Blackfeet artist. For Bird, as for all of the artists represented at Stumptown Art Studio, separating the tribal experience from the art is impossible.

“Growing up on the reservation helped me to appreciate and respect the horse and all of Mother Nature’s animals,” Bird explained. “It also showed me how unjust, tragic and hard life can be—for animals and for people. These are the experiences and emotions that fuel my passion for painting.”

For Bird, who is also heavily involved in the rodeo circuit, art is a way to escape from some tough realities but ultimately, it is her way to make a positive statement, even in the midst of the toughest of circumstance.

“I truly believe that just one painting can make a difference,” she said.

Each of these artists represent and preserve for their culture, whether that is David Dragonfly’s paintings that draw on the beauty and landscape of the reservation but are reminiscent of Plains Indian pictograph art or John Isaiah Pepion’s contribution to the growing body of ledger art, these artists draw on the deep traditions of their culture.

Photographer Teri Loring Dahle, who helped organize these artists and the partnership with the Stumptown Art Studio for the exhibit, draws on her ancestry to inform her art. Dahle hails from ranch and rodeo families, and has over a million images that represent the Indian Country experience.

“My photography is inspired from the horse and buffalo cultures from the past,” she said. “Our ancestors came from the powerful horse and buffalo cultures and I am proud to have daily connections with horses and other animals. It is a connection to our relatives who had to fight to stay alive. That is what my art is about, keeping our cultures alive.”

For many of the artists, the act of art is a sort of sacred spot that shows the healing power of the creative spirit. Ledger artist John Isaiah Pepion calls his work a ‘ceremonial’ understanding of the past that fuels his own understanding of family, cultural preservation and personal healing.

The awareness that art can be both inspirational, educational and personally edifying struck co-organizer Aida Hubbard.

“So many of these artists talk about the power of telling their people’s story and how therapeutic that can be,” she said.

For Hubbard and co-organizer Sue Cox, just bringing these artists to Whitefish represents a major milestone. After months of trying to make a Blackfeet exhibit happen, it was a chance encounter with Teri Dahle that made everything fall into place. Cox utilized the studio’s Van Gogh vehicle to transport the art from Browning to Whitefish. It took three trips to Browning and many hours setting up the exhibit, but everything came together on opening night on September’s gallery night in Whitefish. The artist’s families came to support the opening night, which was complete with prayers, family, drumming and a truly fantastic array of Blackfeet artists.

“It really is amazing, to see of this effort and art.” Aida said. “We’d like to do this every year.”

The Blackfeet exhibit will be at Stumptown Art Studio on Central Avenue through Sept. 30.