Montana Artists Refuge holds Indian Artists Symposium this weekend

By EMILY DONAHOE - IR Staff Writer

“When you’re Native, it’s who you are. It’s inside you and it pulls you,” says Mary Black Bonnet, a young writer and poet from Vermillion, S.D.

Black Bonnet is a resident at the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin.

Like all artists who come through the refuge, she’s taking advantage of some much needed time to focus on her work without distraction.

As part of the Indian Artists Residency program, however, Black Bonnet and her comrades are also at the refuge to represent and explore what it means to be Indian artists, each in his or her own unique way.

This weekend, the Montana Artists Refuge will host an Indian Artists Symposium, featuring open studios, lectures, exhibitions and readings by Indian artists.

On a recent fall morning, this group of MAR residents gathered on a sunny back porch to discuss their work as well as how it’s influenced by their Indian status.

“I grew up urban Indian. I’m trying to figure out where I fit in,” says Trevino L. Brings Plenty, a celebrated young poet, performer and musician based in Portland, Ore.

Inspired by his upbringing, Brings Plenty’s work often deals with the idea of decolonization.

“You have to unlearn pop culture’s idea of what it means to be Indian,” says Brings Plenty, who, thus far, has observed one important truth: “We’re all pretty much the same — messed up.”

“I think thematically, it’s inherent that we address Native issues in our art,” Brings Plenty adds. “I think it’s very direct.”

“For me personally, it’s a more subtle thing,” interjects Black Bonnet who, like Brings Plenty, was raised in a typical American household.

“We’re stuck in places where it’s more or less mainstream America,” says Black Bonnet. “We’re not around Indians a whole lot.”

During her time at the refuge, Black Bonnet is working on a memoir, as well as on some fictional stories.

“I just write where I come from,” says Black Bonnet, joking that she doesn’t get up and say ‘Today I’m gonna write about buffalo and teepees.’”

Victor A. Charlo, on the other hand, writes a lot about those kinds of things.

Charlo, a poet and playwright from Dixon, is working on a soon-to-be-published collection of poetry; he says he has a deep connection to the idea of decolonization that Brings Plenty mentions.

Punished for celebrating their Indian culture, Charlo says his parents decided to raise their children without the burden of knowing it.

Consequently, it took Charlo a long time to “get back to being Indian.”

“Boy, I just really tried really hard,” says Charlo, who nearly became a Jesuit priest.

Marietta King, another resident, is a painter and writer who is delving into the new medium of acrylics during her stay. King’s colorful work is inspired by dreams and Indian mythology, among other things.

“There’s a common thread amongst Native people. There are certain things that are inherent that we deal with,” says King. “(Being Native is) something you have to accept and do and see,” she adds. “It’s so deep and so ingrained.”

For Charlo, the most important aspect of coming together as Indian artists is the sharing that happens, which is crucial to the future of Indian art and artists.

“I’m on the last legs of my life,” says Charlo. “I’m passing it on.”

For more information call 225-3500.