Inspired Natives Awards 2020 - A Call for Nominations

I nominate Louis Still Smoking who is from the Blackfeet nation. Louis is a very talented amazing artist. He brings life to his art work where you can almost feel their emotions through his paintings. His techniques and colors are so vibrant and life like. He gets inspiration through what he sees and and those around him. Louis is a self taught artist and he’s a very genuine amazing person. He’s such an inspiration and especially to the youth. He’s is always willing to help my daughter use different techniques and give her advice with her art. He’s such and amazing talented artist.

I nominate Jason Widdiss (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head) for one of this year’s Inspired Natives awards. Jason continues the Wampanoag practice of making wampum jewelry from quahog shells found along the shores of Martha’s Vineyard. This practice goes back at least five centuries, but it’s likely to be far older. Jason digs up the quahogs himself, then cuts and polishes them to bring out the beautiful purple and white bands of color in each shell. Here are some examples of his work: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JasonWiddissWampum

As some of the first people to have contact with English colonists and fishermen, the Wampanoag have endured centuries of attacks on their identity and way of life. On March 27, 2020, under the Trump Administration, the Tribal Council of the Mashpee Wampanoag was informed by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs that reservation designation would be rescinded and, with the US Department of the Interior, over 300 acres of land would be removed from the federal trust. This decision was reversed by a U.S. District Court ruling in June, but the trauma of having their existence debated still remains. As someone who grew up in MA, I would be so excited to see an acknowledgement not only of a terrific artist but of a people who have survived over 400 years of conflict and erasure. All too often the Wampanoag are remembered only on Thanksgiving and only for “eating with the Pilgrims”- if they’re even remembered at all. This fall I’d like for Wampanoag people to have the spotlight, and Jason Widdiss in particular.

I nominate Logan Maxwell Hagege. One of the finest Artists in paintings of Native Americans. His paintings talk to you! He uses colors so vibrant you could almost touch them. His subjects are so lifelike that it looks more like a photograph than painting. You can find Logan Maxwell Hagege’s paintings at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angles, California.

I will nominate my beautiful soul sister Shelley Morningsong and her husband Fabian Fontenelle. They are great artists and wonderful warm hearted human beings. Blessings from Vienna /Austria