"We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, and winding streams with tangled growth as "wild". To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery."

Luther Standing Bear - Rosebud Sioux

Guardian of the Water Medicine

Guardian of the Water Medicine
Dale Auger

Dale Auger

Dale Auger: On Art, Blood and Kindred Spirits
by Terri Mason

Defining Dale Auger in one sentence is akin to releasing the colours of a diamond in one cut. It can’t be done. It’s the many facets that release a diamond’s true brilliance, as it is the many facets of Auger’s life, education, ancestry, experiences and beliefs that have shaped and polished his work into the internationally acclaimed and collected artist that he is today.

Born a Sakaw Cree from the Bigstone Cree Nation in northern Alberta, Auger’s education began as a young boy when his mother would take him to be with the elders. “I used to say to myself, ‘Why is she leaving me with these old people?’ – but today I see the reason; I was being taught in the old way.”

Auger’s respect for traditional teachings led him on a journey to study art, opening the door to a doctorate in education. He is a talented playwright, speaker and visual artist whose vividly coloured acrylics have captured the attention of collectors that reads like an international ‘Who’s Who’ spanning English to Hollywood royalty. The essence of his work is communication, and now Dr. Auger has come full circle, interpreting the life of his culture – from the everyday to the sacred - through the cross-cultural medium of art.

Read the rest here:

http://www.daleauger.com/printversionbio.cfm

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

For American Indians, a Chance to Tell Their Own Story

New York Times

It isn’t often that curators will bless a museum exhibition before it opens.

But the people behind the “Our Peoples” show at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian are not your usual curators. They are American Indians, enlisted by the museum to help plan the ongoing exhibition, which focuses on the last 500 years of native history.

The museum calls them “community curators” — members of various tribes who work closely with the staff curators on which artifacts to include and how to display them.

“Our philosophy is to give voice to the native community, to give them an opportunity to tell their story,” said Kevin Gover, director of the museum and a Pawnee. “In the mind of Indian people, they’ve never been able to tell their story. Their story is told by others.”

The tribal members say that helping to shape these shows has been profoundly meaningful. “It’s really been a spiritual encounter for me to be able to let the general public know what we are all about, that we are not savages, that we have a high intelligence of life and know how to utilize our natural surroundings,” said Jackie Parsons, 73, the chief appeals court justice for the Blackfeet Nation. “I felt very honored to be able to participate.”

Get the whole story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/arts/artsspecial/12indian.html?ex=1363060800&en=54c056d6f7d28351&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
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