Hot Springs students try different media with CSKT artists

Artists from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) went to Hot Springs School on Saturday to teach fifth through 12th grade students about different art modalities. Sketch artist Cameron Decker from Missoula, along with his wife Aspen Decker, said this is the second school they have visited in Sanders County.

"We went to Dixon last weekend," Cameron stated. "We had a weaver there teaching traditional weaving. Our idea is to bring more art education into the schools." Students can take what they have learned and enter their work in the big art expo on May 17 at the theater event center on the Salish Kootenai campus.

Cristen Twoteeth, the tribal education program manager from Ronan, gave sewing lessons. Charliston Hewankorn, a fifth-grader from Hot Springs, made a bandana and bow tie for his pug dog. Beadwork was taught by Nadia Adams from Arlee. Adams is the Three Chiefs Cultural Center's Education coordinator. "The beadwork we are doing today is earrings, or a lanyard for the neck or wrist," Adams explained.

Aspen Decker is a ledger artist. "I use antique ledger paper from old ledger books from 1874, or old maps, to create my pictures and designs," she explained. But her work goes deeper than that. Aspen creates images from her Native American culture that represent historical events or things which resonate with her. Her art has been on display in the Missoula Art Museum. The images are simple and the people are faceless. Aspen did a depiction of Chief Joseph, local chief of the Nine Pipes region, that she brought with her and one of a woman on a paint horse. "The prompt for students today is 'proud to be Salish Kootenai' and what is important to their identity," Aspen said. The students drew their subjects on newer ledger paper to get the image they wanted. Then they recreated it on the antique paper for the final effect. Aspen said she did a large piece with several pieces of the antique paper on a board. She added the names of missing indigenous women. That was one of her museum pictures. The art she does is called Plains Indian Ledger Art.

Other artists included photographer and filmmaker Aurora Boylan from Missoula, and hip-hop musician and music producer Shadow Devereaux, also from Missoula. Boylan showed students how to take photos outside and in the gym. She let Hot Springs student Aaron Leichtnam take photos of what was referred to as the scary basement of the gymnasium. Devereaux had students creating music on a small keyboard. The music was recorded onto the computer. One student's song had birds singing in the beginning with a soft melodic rhythm, then voices at the end. Devereaux made a hip-hop video during COVID that went viral, he said. "The song was pertaining to youth and people on the reservation," he explained. Though Devereaux recently opened his own recording studio in Missoula, he said he likes to do school assemblies to help with mental health issues that so many are dealing with today. "Art is healing. Mentorship is important," he said.

The school art day event began with poetry. Published poet Heather Cahoon had participants and artists write a poem in the shape of fruit or something they really liked. The end results were words written in the shape of their chosen subject such as a strawberry, describing how they felt about it. Devereaux said the poetry center in the beginning of the process had everyone coming together to make something together to get them all in the mode of creating. "Art helps us get through dark times. When we are creative we should celebrate and share what we have learned," Cameron said.