Blue Mountain Community College | Pendleton, Oregon
The relationship with the master weavers of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is crucial in preserving the traditional practice of weaving Plateau flat twined bags. These bags were initially made of corn husk or dogbane and were used to hold traditional foods in traditional ceremonial gatherings. The program, named "Weaving Yarn Bags and their Importance of Umatilla Culture," provides a space for weavers to hone their craft, a significant symbol of continuity in the Indigenous Plateau community.
Camosun College | Victoria, British Columbia
In the traditional territories of the Songhees Nation, Camosun College aims to uphold ancient traditions by teaching modern Indigenous artists the traditional art of wood carving. The program, called "Mastery of Carving Skills and Cultural Preservation," will guide students under the tutelage of a regional Master artist, enabling them to carve and erect a House Post in the Coast Salish and Songhees cultural style. The project will showcase rich cultural teachings through the traditional practice of carving, serving as a living testament to the resilience and wisdom of Indigenous communities. The program will conclude with an outdoor ceremonial Welcome Feast, which will honor the cultural teachings of Indigenous communities on the college campus.
Capilano College | Sechelt, British Columbia
On the Sunshine Coast of Vancouver Island, Capilano College is making way for Aboriginal arts and cultures with the expansion of the Carving Shed Program that amplifies the presence of the cultural shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation. Since the mid-70s, Aboriginal artmaking has been a part of a rich perspective and experience. With the newly appointed Aboriginal art faculty to serve as custodians of traditional studio arts programs, this cultural journey will include the learning experiences and artistic teachings of shíshálh Master carvers who, through exploration of cultural knowledge of wood carving, students and life learners will gain techniques of form line design and hand carving that create intricate designs exemplify cultural innovation of Aboriginal art.
Chemeketa Community College | Salem, Oregon
In the program, Interweaving Indigenous Art, under the cultural guidance of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Tribe, Chemeketa’s Art department continues to expand its Indigenous art mastery program as a critical placed-based experience for Native learners. By reciprocal and deeply rooted connections to the Tribe, this institution will continue to build Tribally led cultural identities and distinctive practices of basket making and bead working with students and Grand Ronde community members to continue weaving traditions that include materials, Western Red Cedar and tule, as fundamental practices have been carried through generations.
Emily Carr University of Art & Design, Aboriginal Gathering Place| Vancouver, British Columbia
Situated on the unceded, traditional, and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilw̓ ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and Stó:lō (Sto: lo) Nations, Emily Carr has a long legacy of collaboration with Aboriginal communities, art, culture, and education. The program, S'olh Shxweli (our place), will focus on cultural material practice and technical skills, including deer hide drums, cedar basketry, moose/ caribou hair tufting, form line design, and more. Emily Carr’s Aboriginal Gathering Place will pause these workshops until 2024.
Heritage University | Toppenish, Washington
The Art Studio at Heritage University is hosting the Pacific Northwest Native Arts Exchange program, which aims to preserve the cultural practices of the Yakama Nation. The studio, located on the Yakama Tribal territories, will offer hands-on workshops led by Master Yakama artists to foster the next generation of Indigenous creative thinkers, artists, and makers. The program will focus on advancing the technical skills of traditional Shuptuki workshops, including Yakama cedar basket making, corn husk bags, Plateau-style woven basket hats, and raffia baskets.
Mesalands Community College | Tucumcari, New Mexico
Mesalands is located on the ancestral lands of the Apache, Comanche, and Navajo (Diné) tribes. The institution has been offering classes in Navajo silversmithing for over two decades. A cultural and master elderly artist leads the Silversmithing Apprenticeship Program. Each artist will further their practice and explore their skills and designs with silver overlay jewelry, including bolo ties, bracelets, necklaces (such as Squash blossoms), and other contemporary pieces.
Montana State University | Billings, Montana
Continuing the efforts of the Native American Student Achievement Center and in collaboration with Little Bighorn and Chief Dull Knife Tribal Colleges, the Lost but not Forgotten program will continue to offer workshops and skill-building opportunities for cultural artmaking. The program aims to preserve traditional Crow and Northern Cheyenne arts by engaging practicing Master artists to conduct hands-on workshops in moccasin, feather fan crafting, concho belt designing, and cradleboard making. These workshops will incorporate cultural significance through songs, stories, and lectures. The program will seek consultation with the Apsáalooke (Crow) and Tséhéstáno (Northern Cheyenne) Tribes for guidance throughout the program.
Okanagan College | Kelowna, British Columbia
A student gathering space will host a Master/apprentice program called Carving Program: Syilx and Secwepemc Poles of Artistic and Cultural Importance. Renowned Syilx wood carving artists will lead Indigenous apprenticing artists to create house poles. The program aims to collaborate and create a permanent story pole and public art that reflects the cultural importance of the Syilx Okanagan and the Secwepemc People.
Santa Fe Community College | Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe Community College aims to celebrate and preserve the pottery-making traditions of Northern New Mexico. The program will focus on the pottery of the Tewa-speaking Pueblos (Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, San Juan, Santa Clara, Tesuque, and Nambe), the Jicarilla Apache, and the Dine’ (Navajo). It will bring together master potters, apprentices, and new learners to provide opportunities for skill-building and instruction in traditional methods and techniques. An Indigenous Master artist and faculty member will lead this newly expanded pottery program at the School of Art. The program, called "Preserving New Mexico Pottery-making Traditions of the Pueblos," has an intentional design to ensure the survival of traditional techniques and the cultural significance of pottery-making can continue.
University of Alaska, Southeast | Sitka, Alaska
The Northwest Coast Indigenous Arts Program (NWC) has organized traditional Indigenous artistic workshops since 2015, supporting Alaska Native students and communities in Sitka and Southeast Alaska. The program is in the traditional L̓ingit territory of Sheet̓ ka Kwáan Sitka Tribe of Alaska. With the help of a grant, the program aims to expand intergenerational approaches to Alaska Native Arts by promoting the cultural practice of wool and cedar bark weaving among the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples.
University of Oregon | Eugene, Oregon
Under this exciting partnership with the Oregon Folklife Network and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, we will host an Indigenous Place-Keeping Artist fellowship. The fellowship will include an Indigenous-led art curatorial exhibit showcasing the Grand Ronde Tribe's creative life and visual arts. The Winter Storytelling and Artist Residency program will provide a platform for Grand Ronde artists to share their storytelling traditions, encompassing interdisciplinary performance, song, and other methods of passing down their cultural heritage.