Nookomis Obagijigan "Our Grandmother's Gift, a Makizinikewin Project has been awarded a Minnesota Historical Society Residency for 2018-2019. House of Howes artist, Sarah Agaton Howes, "When a person is learning the art of their grandmothers there is frustration, insecurity, excitement, and hope. My favorite moment in moccasin classes is when the maker turns their moccasin right side out. They have been, no doubt, struggling, poking themselves, questioning themselves, and then they flip them around. This is the moment when they become their grandmothers. Cultural arts are a gift from our ancestors to us." The project will interview artists and elders, create an online moccasin patterning tutorial, collaborate with Ojibwemowin speakers on providing instruction in the language, and creating a pattern book and...
There is a moment when people are learning to be makers... They have struggled through their design, learning how to bead, poking themselves, and they've had every emotion from anger to hope. There is a moment when they get to flip their moccasin around right side out. This is the moment when the maker becomes their grandmother. When they realize they are this beautiful. I get to be a part of these moments over and over. This is my greatest joy. 2017 has been an incredible year from Moccasin makers. In the ongoing effort to build Makers, i was fortunate to teach Makizinikewin in four different communities teaching over 130 makers this year alone. Here are just a few highlights...
This past August, House of Howes artist and Inspired Natives Collaborator celebrated the one year anniversary with the Eighth Generation staff and store in Pike Place market. Check out this beautiful video of the day~
For the last two years, the Bemidji State American Indian Resource Center has hosted a series of Makizinikewin workshops for students and community members. Their commitment to the cultural arts is just one way the center supports students and families as part of the Bemidji State University community.
Fall workshops commence November 10-11 and November 11-12. Contact Bill Blackwell to register wblackwell@bemidjistate.edu
House of Howes Artist and Inspired Natives Collaborator is excited to be asked to speak at the American Association of University Women Scholarship Fundraiser this November 2. The event includes dinner at the Northland Country Club, speakers, a music program, and silent auction. Funds raised provide scholarships for local women.
