After a near 10-year absence, we were fortunate last year to reintroduce traditional Native American art workshops to the Crow’s Shadow program schedule. With the help of some outstanding local instructors and the granting from several charitable foundations, we have managed to host classes on creating adult moccasins, beaded baby moccasins, wing dresses and gloves.
We’ve also begun a nine-month series of workshops that is giving close to 40 tribal members the opportunity to build three horse regalia items in time for the 2010 Pendleton Round-Up centennial celebration this September.
One workshop participant was kind enough to share some of the reasons why she is excited to see the traditional workshops return.
Janine Bearchum said she first began taking advantage of opportunities to learn traditional arts many years ago, and first learned how to sew through a workshop setting.
During the 1990s, Janine took several Crow’s Shadow workshops, such as basket weaving and box making, and eventually was invited to teach a workshop herself.
“All of them have been just so easy to understand,” Janine said, adding that the skills acquired allowed her to continue creating art at home. “Even if I put it away for a while I can come back to it and pick it up again.”
With a kitchen facility and ample table space for drawing and cutting patterns, Crow’s Shadow can be a more comfortable and practical setting for working on art projects than, say, the living room floor.
“I have small kids, so working at home is hard for me,” Janine said. “(At Crow’s Shadow) you get all the input from other people on the designs that they’re doing.”
More importantly, however, traditional arts workshops create vital opportunities to pass on cultural traditions, many of which were nearly lost during the “boarding school era” when Native peoples were discouraged from and punished for speaking their indigenous languages and practicing their traditional customs.
“So much stuff is already being lost,” Janine said. “So we’re in the age now when people are more willing to share.”
Janine said her own mother was among the many women who grew up unable to learn the cultural practices from the previous generations. Whereas Janine’s grandmother used to make gloves, the skill was never passed down to her mother.
“My mom has a pattern that she got but didn’t know how to use,” Janine said. After taking part in a recent glove-making class from instructor Kathryn Quaempts Burke, she said, “I can take that back to mom and help her learn.”
Even better, perhaps, Janine looks forward to keeping the traditional arts a part of her family’s future.
“I have my own kids now and to know that I can pass that on is an amazing gift,” Janine said.
We look forward to providing more workshops in the coming months and years. Please check our Web site for details on upcoming opportunities.