Kenwood’s “Native American Art in the Present Tense” all-student art exhibit is on display through mid-December. Interested members of the public can email keri.mabry@mpls.k12.mn.us.
I grew up in Dallas, where my schools never had events to recognize Native American culture that I can recall. I couldn’t have been the only Native student, but it felt that way.
Imagine my surprise when I arrived at Kenwood, which not only has an American Indian affinity group (shout out to MPS Department of American Indian Education!), but also an annual Native art residency.
Kenwood, rightly so I’ve found, has a reputation for empowering kids to be kind, creative and curious. This is aided in part by art residencies at each grade, graciously funded by Kenwood’s PTA, and Principal Heidi Johnson’s earnest commitment to honoring the myriad cultures and languages represented within the student population.
The Native American Art in the Present Tense residency originated in 2015 with Kenwood parent alumnae Heid and Angela Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe), who approached former art teacher, Margaret Swenson, with the idea.
In collaboration with the Er- drichs and contemporary Native artists, Margaret developed a curriculum that was inaugurated at Kenwood in fall 2016. The residency’s title reminds educators to avoid the pitfall of discussing Native cultural contributions in the past tense.
In 2018, the Minneapolis Institute of Art based its “Native Art, Native Voices” K-12 curriculum on lesson plans from Margaret and participating artists James Autio (Ojibwe), Gordon Coons (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin and Chippewa/ Ojibwa, Ottawa), and Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota, Mohegan, Muscogee).
This fall, I had the opportunity to help coordinate the residency. Thanks to support from Principal Johnson, PTA volunteers extraordinaire Amy Sanborn and Daisy Simpson, and Kenwood teachers, who were courageous enough to grant students access to acrylic paint in their classrooms, it came together beautifully.
Kindergartners met with Wóokiye wiŋ (Dakhóta) to craft watercolor Dakhóta floral designs. First grade students painted colorful Ojibwe family clan designs with James Autio. Gordon Coons led second-grade students in creating large drawings with personal meaning in the Woodlands style. Hapistinna Graci Horne (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota, Hunkpapa Lakota/Dakota) taught third-grade students how to make their own stamps, which they used to produce unique bandanna designs.
Marlena Myles inspired fourth-grade students to sketch original animal scenes, using bleeding tissue paper to add color. Fifth-grade students, guided by Angela Erdrich, sketched and painted fish that the Ojibwe catch in Red Lake, as often depicted by late artist Patrick DesJarlait (Ojibwe).
Being present in classrooms while students worked alongside the artists in residence was sur- prisingly emotional. I sat on the rug next to the kids, listening and learning with them, healing a part of younger me. We’re still here, and I’m filled with hope knowing that Kenwood students are celebrating that fact.
