“What do you do in your idle time?” David Dragonfly, curator at the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning, asked.
His suggestion: “Do art.”
But, he continued, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, “we’re isolated.” There’s “no access to art supplies.” The closest art store is in Kalispell or Cut Bank, and though Dragonfly buys his materials online, he noted that affordability is another barrier for many on the reservation. He said that a number of artists draw and paint on printer paper or scrap materials like cardboard.
“I’ve always heard people say they never had art supplies, never had the money,” he said.
Fellow artists working 90 miles away at the Stumptown Art Studio in Whitefish are hoping that a donation of free art supplies to Blackfeet artists will meet some of this need.
While organizing a Stumptown exhibition in September that featured both experienced and novice Blackfeet Nation artists, “the stories we heard and the need (for supplies) really touched us,” said Susan Fletcher, president of Stumptown’s board of directors.
Fletcher and Sue Cox, director of Stumptown’s Art from the Heart program, which creates opportunities for and access to creative expression for underserved communities, thought a project collecting and donating materials to Blackfeet artists would be a perfect mission fit for the studio’s outreach arm. As soon as they announced their plan, Fletcher said, they immediately began receiving calls from people seeking supplies.
“There is a big wish list,” Fletcher continued, with demand for canvases, paint, and brushes, as well as traditional materials like hides, hoops, and buffalo bones.
Stumptown has received calls from around 25 artists and teachers, including Dana Hellinger, a school counselor who works with kindergarteners and first-grade students in Browning.
“Sometimes they don’t know how to talk about feelings or trauma,” she said. “I use a lot of art therapy techniques because it’s a gentle way for children to be able to work through their problems and emotions.”
While art therapy is a big part of her approach, her $150 budget doesn’t go very far, and said she was “absolutely amazed” to hear about Stumptown’s initiative. She hopes the donation will help many children and adults in the community express their creativity.
“Just to get (people) started (with making art), to give them an opportunity, it’d be a major plus,” Dragonfly agreed. “Maybe there’s a lot more artists that would participate if they have art supplies.”
Fletcher said the studio plans to bring materials to Browning in early January, and it’s currently accepting donated supplies. She also said that she and Cox hope to establish an ongoing commitment to meeting this creative need through Art from the Heart.