“Unceded Ancester #15” is one in a series of “Unceded Ancesters” collages by artist Jamie John. Photo courtesy of the artist.

By Pat Stinson/staff reports

In observance of Native American Heritage Month, the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts in Naaminitigog (Manistee) will present “First Americans”, an art show featuring contemporary works by Native American artists residing in Anishinaabe Aki (Michigan).

Advertisement for the Pines of Arcadia Halloween Party on October 26 beginning at 7 p.m. The ad is black with the green Pines of Arcadia logo and orange and white lettering. A photo on the left side is of a couple with their toddler. They are dressed as pirates with pirate hats and an eye patch. The photo caption says Pirates Maria, Jalen and Maeve. The ad message on the right says Live music with Jake Allen and T.J. Rankin. Those channeling the Halloween spirit are encourage to wear costumes of the fun, fab, spooky and sinister. All are invited. Pines of arcadia is located south of Arcadia, just north of Arcadia Bluffs, on the west end of Bischoff Road. Click on this ad to be taken to the Pines of Arcadia website.Image for the Gasoline Refind ad shows a photo of the front of the store looking at the red screened door on the porch with found objects. Ad reads Open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. plus Fridays from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Vintage Shopping. Shop in store or shop online. www.gasolinerefind.com. 231-238-3891. Google it. Picture of a retro looking pig's comic book face. Owners Lynn and Scott Brown written above it. Located at Erdman Road, Bear Lake, between Potter and 13 mile roads.Advertisement for Honor Onekama Building Supply. Family owned since 1963. Knowledge. Service, Integrity. Here to help you with your hardware and building projects. Call 231-889-3456. Located at 4847 Main Street, Onekama. Click on this ad to be taken to the website.

The Nov. 9-Dec. 30 art exhibit is dedicated to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native American federal cabinet member. While in Congress, she focused on issues such as environmental justice and missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.  

“First Americans” is the Ramsdell’s first art show devoted solely to featuring artwork by Native Americans. Forty works by nine artists will be displayed in RRCA’s Hardy Hall. Featured artists are Suzanne Cross, Marcella Hadden, Judy Jashinsky, Jamie John, Cecelia LaPointe, Michelle Lucas and George Martin. Pieces by Native artists Shirley Brauker and Daniel Mena will be on loan for this event from Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City.

"Covered Pot" by Shirley Brauker, on loan from Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City. Courtesy photo.
“Covered Pot” by Shirley Brauker, on loan from Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City. Courtesy photo.

The Ramsdell show includes mixed media, collage, paintings, ceramics, carvings, beadwork, poetry and photography. A presentation of the short Native American Opinion Podcast video, “The Real Story of Thanksgiving,” will be shown during the exhibit.

The public is invited to a free reception for artists in the Ramsdell’s gallery, 6-8 p.m., Nov. 13.

“What’s special for me is, this is only the second time I’ll have been able to meet other Native American artists,” said artist Judy Jashinsky. A member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Tribe, she added that a majority of her work is exhibited “far away.”

Artist Judy Jashinsky stands beside her work, "Stockbridge Munsee Shield," which includes symbols of the Munsee-Stockbridge Band of the Mochican Tribe: Turtle, Bear, Eagle, Wolf. File photo.
Artist Judy Jashinsky beside her work, “Stockbridge-Munsee Shield,” with symbols of the Munsee-Stockbridge Band of the Mochican Tribe: Wild Turkey, Turtle, Bear, Wolf. File photo by Mark Videan.

Most of Jashinsky’s works in the local show are painted on wood, a method she said, for her, speaks to her Native American heritage. She paints with graphite, Prismacolor colored pencils, oil and acrylic. Perhaps one of her most provocative works, “Great Grandmother,” is the title of two portraits of the artist’s matriarch. In one, she wears clothes from the white man’s world. In another, she wears clothing she might have worn had she not attended an Indian boarding school.

Artist Jamie John works in a variety of media, often creating collages. An Interlochen Arts Academy graduate, John is a two-spirit Anishinaabe and Korean artist whose work in “FIRST AMERICANS” is part of the artist’s “Unceded Ancestors” series.

John said the works are “collaged images of ethno-photographs,”  many taken by 19th century anthropologists who described Native Americans as a vanishing race, “which we know is not true.”

“If you do (an online search of) Native Americans, the first images you see are of Native Americans walking their long walks to lands they have no connection to or, in many cases, people who have attended boarding schools,” John explained.

First Americans art show artist Jamie John is pictured in front of one of their colorful prints/paintings. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Jamie John. Photo courtesy of the artist.

“The idea that the Native American or Indigenous have vanished rather than been removed or taken out of the conversation, it’s something I’m curious to investigate with these collages … the act of making (them) is almost like reversing this act of removal from place,” John said, adding that materials in the collages are handmade, such as black-and-white doodles, ink, watercolor paper and acrylics.

Beadwork artist Michelle Lucas is a tribal member of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and a member of the Turtle Clan. She has sold her pieces for almost 30 years. She said she is excited to exhibit her work for the first time in an art show.

"Mama Bear," beadwork by Michelle Lucas. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Mama Bear,” beadwork by Michelle Lucas. Photo courtesy of the artist.

To see works by all the artists, visit the Ramsdell during gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday, 12-5 p.m.; Wednesday, 12-7 p.m.; and Saturday, 12-3 p.m. Registration for the exhibit is free. 

The Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts, at 101 Maple St., Manistee, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is located on the ancestral land of the Anishinaabek.

To learn more about the show, go to RamsdellTheatre.org. For more about Native American Heritage Month, visit https://www.nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/

Write A Comment