Artists bring supplies, mentorship to reservation community

The silhouette of a leaping elk stretches over an antique ledger with symbolic ink designs to the north and south of the powerful creature. It’s one of John Isaiah Pepion’s distinctive pieces titled “Elk Medicine.”

Art, for him, is also a form of medicine, he says.

“It heals me, it’s also helping me reach troubled youth and reach our community,” he said of the classes he teaches, “To me, I’m recording what’s going on in our lifetimes right now — I see it as cultural preservation. The designs mean something, the colors mean something …. being a storyteller is part of my tribe’s tradition.”

Pepion resides on the Blackfeet Nation — a community of over 10,000 that is rich in cultural tradition, but monetarily poor. Art supplies, for many, aren’t high up on the list of priorities, but the creative desire and talent is there. For the past two years, a grassroots effort known as Blackfeet at Heart has stepped up to bring much needed supplies, workshops and opportunities to reservation artists.

Flathead Valley artists Sue Fletcher and Sue Cox noticed the wealth of artistic talent within the Blackfeet community through their work with Stumptown Art Studio in Whitefish. In September 2016, the studio hosted an exhibit of Blackfeet art. Volunteers helped curate pieces, display them and advise artists on pricing. On the night of the show, Fletcher was floored at the number of artists and their families who turned out for the event.

“They were just so full of pride at the thought of their art being out there in a gallery,” Fletcher said. “One of the things that we noticed is that there was tremendous talent in their work, but the materials that they used were a very poor quality.”

Some of the paintings they received, for example, were done on the back of corrugated cardboard and many submission arrived unframed.

Sues one and two, as they joking call themselves, decided to help change that. They placed an ad in the reservation newspaper asking anyone interested in art supplies to give them a call.

Sixty-four people responded.

Anyone from the artists themselves to parents concerned that their children weren’t getting art education in school reached out. When asked to specify what was on their wish lists, many callers just said they’d be happy with anything. No, Fletcher urged them, tell us exactly what you want. Let us help.

Cox and Fletcher made their first trip to Browning in late 2016 bringing with them 64 boxes filled with art supplies specifically packed based on the needs of the individual artists.

“People came and they couldn’t believe the boxes full of everything from easels to paints, to beads to leather,” Fletcher said. “There were tears, there was such gratitude. It was at that point that we thought we had to establish our own nonprofit and get going.”

Blackfeet at Heart was born. The group’s mission is multifaceted: bring art supplies and mentorship to those who need it on the reservation and increase opportunities through workshops and art contests.

They asked fellow Flathead artists to donate supplies and have received everything from sewing machines and giant canvases to leather and even a loom.

“We were there just after the blizzard and in addition to taking art supplies, we took firewood and clothing and food. That felt like a good rescue mission on all sorts of levels and getting art supplies into the hands of people that have been isolated and stranded was also pretty awesome to do,” Fletcher said.

What started out as ferrying supplies from the Flathead to individual artists on the res expanded as their community connections grew.

The need for supplies in reservation schools was huge. During a visit to Browning, they asked to see the art supply closet at one institution and found “one can of colored pencils, India ink and dried up jugs of acrylic paint.”

So Cox and Fletcher organized art contests in both the high school and local community college, rewarding the top finishers with quality art supplies. Additionally, Blackfeet at Heart has helped get supplies into the hands of counselors at the substance abuse treatment facility, Crystal Creek Treatment Center.

Fletcher said the group will be assembling project kits for the facility so participants can make items such as suncatchers or journals as part of their treatment.

Blackfeet at Heart has hosted multiple workshops at the Museum of the Plains Indians featuring instructors from both on and off the reservation. They’ll be in Browning on weekends in May and June for another round of workshops, Fletcher added.

She hopes that art can serve as a bridge between the two cultures: she not only wants to bring art teachers to the reservation, but bring young Blackfeet artists to Whitefish so they can step foot in professional galleries. The group recently received a $3,000 grant from Soroptimist International of Whitefish to assist with these and other efforts.

For Fletcher, the group’s mission hits home on a personal note.

“I’ve had times in my life where I’ve had depression or had to work through things and my art has rescued my soul,” she said. “When we’re dealing with these precious, wonderful people, we just are so committed to getting art opportunities to them because we think that we could do a great service.”

Pepion, who now sits on the organization’s board, said that accessing supplies is difficult because of the reservation’s location — 100 miles from Kalispell — coupled with economic challenges.

“[The] market here is pretty slow because we have a long winter, we only have a few month tourist season,” Pepion explained. “[Blackfeet at Heart is] pretty cool because there’s not really much support for the arts in our country … We just want a lot of opportunities for artists in our communities to know they can make a living as an artist.”

Art produced by Blackfeet artists is on display at Stumptown Art Studio in Whitefish and Going to the Sun Gallery, thanks to Blackfeet at Heart.

“It’s the most gratifying thing I think I’ve ever done … [the reservation] is an impoverished setting and there’s a lot of despair and we really believe that art is therapy,” Fletcher said. “It’s a real privilege and a gift — getting to know and understand these people.”

To find out more about Blackfeet at Heart or donate to their mission, visit www.blackfeetatheart.com.

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss may be reached at 758-4433 or mreiss@dailyinterlake.com.