S3E3: Sheila Ransom (Akwasasne Mohawk Nation)

08/08/24 • 10 min

What if your craft could become your sanctuary and medicine? Join us as we sit down with 2024 Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award Honoree, Sheila Ransom, a master basket maker from the St. Regis Mohawk tribe, who shares her incredible 30-year journey into the heart of this ancient art. Sheila didn't start her craft until later in life, under the mentorship of her godmother and other master artisans, but her connection to basket-making has since become a profound source of healing and inspiration. Sheila's vivid storytelling reveals how the natural world and everyday objects can ignite creativity and lead to stunning, unique designs.

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S3E2: 2024 Community Spirit Awardee, Golga Oscar (Yup'ik)

Have you ever wondered how art can be a powerful vessel for preserving cultural heritage? Meet 2024 Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award Honoree Golga Oscar (Yup'ik), who shares their profound journey from a childhood fascination with Inuit art to becoming a celebrated textile artist rooted in the rich traditions of the Yupik Nation. Golga recounts their awe-inspiring experiences at the Yup'ik dance ceremony, Kuvvigik, and how these cultural moments propelled them to create traditional attire that honors her ancestors. Discover the pivotal role their community and the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) played in shaping their artistic journey, and how their art becomes a bridge to her spiritual connection with nature.

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S3E4: Clementine Bordeaux (Sičáŋǧu Lakótapi)

This is the first of two episodes that will highlight the topic of Global Indigeneity and the role of art in these spaces. In these episodes, we examine the interconnectedness of Indigenous communities worldwide and focus on artist-run initiatives and residencies as powerful platforms for cultural exchange and collaboration. Moving beyond the Western and global Northern-centric narratives, the conversation reasserts the shared histories, values, and interests among Indigenous communities in regions like Central Asia, the Middle East, and others that have been historically marginalized.

Our first guest is Clementine Bordeaux, an artist and scholar, and an enrolled member of the Sičáŋǧu Lakótapi (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), who grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Clementine received a PhD in Culture and Performance from the World Arts and Cultures/Dance program at UCLA. She is currently a University of California President's and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. In Fall 2025, Clementine will join the History of Art and Visual Culture department at UC Santa Cruz. Clementine is also involved with Racing Magpie - a Lakota-centric arts and culture organization in Rapid City, South Dakota. Racing Magpie accomplishes this through affordable studios, a Native art gallery, arts and cultural programming, innovative collaborations, and creative community space.
Clementine was also part of the inaugural group of Indigenous artists from North America invited to join the Nomadic Art Camp in Kyrgyzstan in fall 2024. The 12-day residency was founded by Shaarbek Amankul, a multidisciplinary artist and the Founder/Director of Б’Art Contemporary, based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.