A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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By Andy Gardner While beadwork or basketmaking may come to mind when some think of traditional Mohawk art, local artist Kiera Pyke puts a unique twist on it. She makes wearable pieces using porcupine quills, a style known as quillwork. "I usually get them myself, like off of roadkill or someone will give it to me, or my husband will shoot one for me," she said. "After that, I pull them all out, pull all the hairs off the porcupine I can use, sort them and wash them." She dyes them for her...
Iehiá:tons Mahlon Smoke Karihwatákie kanatakwé:kon tsi nentewákiere nón:wa nikahá:wi tenhotíhkwa'te ne tahatikonhsatákie ne tsiá:ta nikanakerahtsherá:ke. Tsi nahò:tenk kí:ken kanakerahtsheratákie enhonnonhtónnionhwe tsi ronatehiahrónkie tánon enhatikwatá:ko ne kaná:ta. Tsionkwè:ta ne iakoió'tens tsi ierahstánions tánon ne akoio'ténhsera Sydney Jacobs iontákiats. Tsi niiakiónhnhes shiierahtstánions tánon iéhsere ierahstánions iéhsere ne sénha aiakoianeráhsten. Nahé:'a iohseratákie iakohníson...
By Mahlon Smoke There is a philosophy that exists throughout our community that what we do now will affect the next seven generations. Something that this current generation will keep in their minds as they grow and improve the community. One person who does this through her designs and projects is Sydney Jacobs. All through her life she has been drawing and pursuing artistic endeavors. In recent years she designed beading patterns for people, stickers and designed dresses that are inspired by...
If you're driving down St. Regis and you find yourself at the four corners of School Road you may notice some women made of wood wearing brightly painted shawls and placed neatly on the lawn in front of the well-loved Tammy Bonaparte. A woman who has taken a shine to paint after her children grew up and started families of their own. Bonaparte is an example of someone who is not afraid to try new things and encourages everyone around her own age to do the same. Bonaparte began painting around th...
Music runs deep in the Jackson clan and despite a rough start, young Billy Jackson wants to keep that going. Billy Jackson is the son of local legend T.J. Jackson, who passed away two years ago. When Billy was growing up he used to watch his father and uncles on stage having a good time while entertaining the crowds who were dancing, having an equally good time. That was when he got the bug. "I miss the old days, seeing my father and uncle up there jamming with the boys just rocking out and...
At the Native North American Traveling College, Dave Fadden works to help educate and teach people about the culture and art. In his 6th year at the Traveling College, Fadden has a long and extensive history as an artist and educator. Fadden comes from a family of artists, who encouraged him to paint and be creative. This positive encouragement lead to Fadden working and painting throughout his life, his skills got him noticed at age 19 where he landed his first job as a painter. From there, Dav...
Within the Longhouse, a young water drum singer named Don J. White or DJ sings powerfully and with all the might a 4-year old can muster at that age. It's due to those years as a powerful drum singer for the Longhouse and at powwows, that gave him the range he needed to be a singer. Now into his late 30's, he is singing on stage with a band and for an eager audience to hear. Though DJ White had been singing all his life, as of last year his lifelong hobby began to open opportunities to perform...
Lawn sales can contain hidden treasures. At one particular lawn sale on Kawehnoke a small treasure with a big future was found. Kiawentiio Tarbell is a seventh grader at the Akwesasne Freedom School and she has many talents. At the family lawn sale in July she was selling several pieces of original art she had made. Tarbell has been painting for a few years and she said her first project was very basic. Instead of an art supply store her first paint set could have come from Home Depot. "When I...
Akwesasne Artist Kit Thomas made her first appearance in an art gallery in California over the weekend. The Illusions Art Exhibit had its Opening Reception on Friday, July 29, 2017, at the Raquel Amaral Studio/Art Gallery in Concord, California. Kit has four pieces in the show, including what she calls the "Bingo Card Ladies," because she used old radio bingo cards in the background of the paintings. Kit Thomas is Wolf Clan, a member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe. She resides in California...
This past weekend I had the pleasure of a visit from Dukon Harris and his family. He is a very talented artist who resides in Ganienkeh with his wife Jaymee Fox, a native of Akwesasne, and their 2 daughters and 1 son. Dukon's rich cultural background consists of Comanche, Sac & Fox, Choctaw, and Ponca nations of Oklahoma. He grew up in Apache, Oklahoma with his mother's family and spent a lot of time with his grandparents. He says that his grandfather was the most influential person to him, and...
The art of basket making was in Carrie's family for a long time, and to ask if anyone had inspired her for her to start, she gave a totally different reason why she began. Early on into her marriage with Glenn, she began to realize the business of her life as a "stay at home mom." Glen was off staying busy with his work skills and Carrie wondered what she could do besides her usual chores and keeping house. When they became pregnant with their oldest daughter Rain, Carrie knew what she would do...
To many people, basket making is an art, creating an involved and often elaborate piece of art from something as strong and unbending as a black ash hardwood tree. For Ann Mitchell, basket making is a form of art, but more so, basket making is her salvation. Ann comes from a long line of basket makers, her great grandmother Louise Barnes made baskets for a living, but had to hide this craft for fear of losing her benefits. The line jumped down to her mother, Laura Mitchell, who makes baskets, an...
Kirsten Thompson has been a Make-up Artist since 2011, when an event that changed her perspective of life made her realize it was too short. She decided to do what she loved, which was to become a Make-up Artist. Kirsten applied and got into Make-up Designory, the Harvard of make-up schools in Los Angeles, California. She has learned from the best, as all the teachers are required to work in the industry, which allows them to provide contacts for jobs for students, and also guarantees they are...
It's not unusual to find independent, strong Mohawk women. And it's not unusual to find strong, independent and creative Mohawk women. What makes this strong, independent and creative Mohawk woman stand out from other women is this woman is artistically fearless. Niio Perkins has created a world for herself by knowing what she likes and making her own road artistically. Armed with knowledge and a comfortable understanding of her own Haudenosaunee culture, Perkins isn't afraid to bring her...
Brandon Oakes' roots are in Ahkwesahsne, a son of Larry Cook and Patricia Oakes. His late grandparents are Abe Cook and Josephine Swamp Cook as well as Alec Oakes and Irene (Conners). He presently lives in Toronto, Ontario and has traveled to many other areas with his career as an actor, dancer and artist. Brandon has appeared in many movies with other actors whose work he had always admired. To his credit he earned both their respect and their friendship in the process. His career has spanned a...
Recently Jefferson Community College announced the winners of the 2013 North Country Writers Contest. Among the winners, winning Honorable mention in the Poetry genre was Shannel Garrow of Hogansburg for her poem “Sage.” The Writers Contest included the genres Short Fiction, Poetry and Essay/Non-Fiction. Submissions were required to reflect a connection to the North Country and be a previously unpublished work. The award for honorable mention was $25 and Garrow’s work was published online on the JCC website. Award recipients were also reque...
Ann Mitchell is a young woman of 24 and is our featured artist for this week. Her basket making skills are growing steadily and are becoming more known to the Ahkwesahsne community. She has already made her mark at the New York State Fair this past summer as she entered and won second place in the Traditional category. With the same basket, Ann entered it to the Seneca Nation Fall Festival where she won honors with first place. In addition to her wins, Ann also presented Kerry Kennedy (daughter...
Some of you may know well-traveled photographer Herbi M. Francis. Francis is soon to enjoy the accolades her work surely deserves at an exhibition entitled “Existence: of All That Is, Was & Became”, which will be presented by the Foothills Art Society, all through the month of October. Existence will be shown at 213 Main St. in Malone NY right next to the Foothills Art Society. I say next to because Francis was able to convince show organizers to show her work in a larger space, giving her licen...
Kawenniiosta Jock is an emerging Akwesasne designer who creates wearable pieces of art by bringing her artistic inspirations to life through her fashions. She creates colorful clothing that is everyday ready to wear. Kawi hopes to one day fulfill her dream of having her fashion line, J.A.K.I.L by KSJ, become a household name and available in all major department stores worldwide. Her line, which features vibrant colors and designs, will set the wearer apart from the crowd. Every letter in the...
You may not have heard about Syracuse based Kanienkehka artist Brandon Lazore, but he is beginning to make big moves in the art scene there. Lazore, whose mother is Carla Delormier, grew up around Syracuse, but has spent lots of time with his family here in Akwesasne. Lazore is nearly finished with his art degree from Onondaga Community College. This degree is an accomplishment in itself as Lazore spent several years away doing construction in Washington, DC and while in DC, Lazore completed no...
Ben Benedict grew up around craftsmen, he made his first bird carving out of a piece of scrap cedar he found lying around in his father’s lacrosse factory when he was just 13 years old. He still has that carving in his workshop along with several other carvings, bird models, photos, and many, many awards and medals he has earned throughout his years as a woodcarver. Benedict’s workshop is a living record to the history of his artistry, from the very first rough wood carving to the uncannily rea...
Matt “Big Worm” Mitchell and Hunter White are two Hip Hop artists from Akwesasne. Together Big Worm and Hunter are R.E.D.D., and just recently celebrated the release of their first CD, “The Rez Ryder LP.” Worm and Hunter are from Snye, Quebec and if you haven’t caught them at their many shows then first make yourself acquainted with their CD, and find your way out to a show. On first listen, I found “You Aint Like Us,” a track off their new CD, to be a throwback to a better era in HipHop, full...
We told you last week that Victoria Ransom’s art is being featured at AxeNeo7. This week we got a hold of Victoria to tell us about herself and her art. At this time, none of Victoria’s sculpture works will be for sale, but her paintings can be. She can also do commissions, and can be contacted at [email protected]. Again, her art can be seen at AxeNeo7, 80 Hanson Street, Gatineau (Québec) 819-771-2122. Hours: 12 to 5 Pm Wednesday to Sunday. IT: Do you have any plans after grad...
TORONTO – The 21st annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival opens April 11 with “CowJews and Indians: How Hitler Scared My Relatives and I Woke Up in an Iroquois Longhouse—Owing the Mohawks Rent” - a film about righting history’s wrongs, that’s been dubbed “Borat meets Michael Moore.” TJFF is proud to kick things off with Marc Halberstadt’s playfully provocative CowJews and Indians. This sardonically funny film draws a straight line between the meager reparations his family received from Germany in 1...
Ryan Hill, originally from Six Nations, is an artist here in Akwesasne. You may have seen him during the summer working on large stone carvings in the parking lot of Mohawk Printing. He recently traded his block of stone for a block of ice when he entered the Public Challenge Ice Carving contest at Winterlude in Ottawa at Confederation Park on Saturday February 16th. The theme was Imaginary Garden and the title of his sculpture was “Native Spring.” This is the first time Hill has tried ice scu...
