Scenes from the Anishinaabe Art Festival
Photojournalist and bead artist Jaida Grey Eagle photographs Indigenous artists and their work at a new festival in Bemidji, Minnesota
Artist Jennie Kappenman, a member of the Red Lake band of Chippewa, and her sister, Liz Sargent, pose in front of jingle dresses during the Anishinaabe Art Festival in Bemidji. Photo by Jaida Grey Eagle
For two days in late July, the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minnesota
With its many contributors, supporters, and attendees, the festival was a community effort that flexed the economic muscle of craft while showcasing the immense beauty created by regional artists. As organizers wrote on the event website, “Our art is a part of our everyday lives, it is who we are. These creations are a powerful tool carrying our message; sharing our stories, dreams, and struggles. They provide a record of our history and a view into our future.”
Image Gallery
Artist Jennie Kappenman displays completed jingles, which are sewn onto jingle dresses.
Artist Jennie Kappenman demonstrates how to hand-roll a jingle at the booth she shared with the Minnesota Historical Society. In 2021, she was the society’s Native American Artist-in-Residence.
These Cattail Dolls, made of leather and beads and stuffed with cattail fluff, were created by artist Ramona Morrow, a member of Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Artist Ramona Morrow’s Cattail Dolls are displayed at the Anishinaabe Art Festival in Bemidji.
Anishinaabe artist Awanigiizhik Bruce converses with a customer purchasing one of their prints at the Sanford Center during the festival.
A close-up of beadwork by artist Ramona Morrow.
Anishinaabe artist Michelle Waabanangagokwe Defoe beads a panel at her booth during the festival in Bemidji.
Red Lake Ojibwe artist Rob Fineday leads a workshop on birch bark basketry at the Anishinaabe Art Festival in Bemidji.
Artist Rob Fineday cuts bark for a birch bark basket. He has been working with this material for the past 10 years.
Festival goers, guided in the making of birch bark baskets by artist Rob Fineday, were invited to take their handiwork home with them.
Birch bark baskets on display as part of a workshop at the Anishinaabe Art Festival in Bemidji.
Hip-hop artist Sten Joddi, a member of the Mvskoke Nation of Oklahoma, poses for a portrait outside the Sanford Center in Bemidji. He performed during the Anishinaabe Art Festival’s music and dance show.
Anishinaabe artist Nashay Howes shows a hand-crafted moss bag, used to keep an infant warm and secure, during the festival.
Details of artist Nashay Howes’s appliqué work on a moss bag.
A beaded bag by artist Martina Isham at the Wilderness Woman Designs booth.
Beadwork by artist Crystal Greene.
Singer Amaya Pemberton, of the Red Lake Nation, poses for a portrait outside the Sanford Center.
A fox star quilt, by artist Chelsey McArthur-Warren, on display at the art festival.
A model shows a scarf made by artist Kent Estey, a member of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe, during a fashion show at the Anishinaabe Art Festival in Bemidji.
Here, a model wears a ribbon skirt from the Buckanaga Social Club, an art collective launched by Ojibwe designer Amber Buckanaga.
This bird-print, ribbon and appliqué shirt was produced by the Buckanaga Social Club, an art collective.
A jacket from the Buckanaga Social Club, modeled during the fashion show at the Anishinaabe Art Festival.
A model wears a beaded black leather fringe jacket, created by designer Norma Jean Bakka, an elder of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
An embellished jacket by designer Norma Jean Bakka.
Crane-printed pants and long-sleeve shirt from the Buckanaga Social Club.
Singer and spoken-word poet Jada Brown, who is affiliated with the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, poses for a portrait outside the Sanford Center.
The front entrance of the Sanford Center during the Anishinaabe Art Festival in Bemidji.
Jaida Grey Eagle is an Oglala Lakota artist who currently lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a photojournalist, producer, beadwork artist, and writer. She is a member of Women Photograph, Indigenous Photograph, and the 400 Years Project.
jaidagreyeagle.com | @jaida.greyeagle
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Special Thanks to Our Sponsor
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
