Arts and Cultural Heritage Grant

Born and raised in northern MN, I am fully of European ancestry, but for the last seven years I have been involved in the local indigenous community as a teacher of traditional crafts. I have taught birch bark basketry, hide tanning, snowshoe hare blanket weaving, and animal processing at Leech Lake Tribal College. I have taught classes in black ash and birch bark basketry at Red Lake Tribal College, and buffalo hide tanning (rawhide) in Red Lake (4 Directions Development). I have worked with the Indigenous Environmental Network building two birch bark canoes in Bemidji, MN. I will be teaching traditional deer hide tanning for Leech Lake Education this winter as a staff training, so that they can do work teaching youth. I have helped lead wild rice harvest and traditionally processing for community Leech Lake events and at the Leech Lake Tribal College. My goal is to share my knowledge as effectively as I can so that my students can become the teachers in their communities. Finished usable hides will be a measureable outcome. People participating in the whole process and thoroughly learning how to traditionally tan hides will be another measure of success.