A major exhibition of Native American artworks through January in on display at the Michigan State University Museum through January.
The exhibit called "Gaawii Eta-Go Aawizinoo Gaawiye Mkakoons / It’s Not Just a Quill Box" includes dozens of examples of boxes created with birch bark, sweetgrass and porcupine quills.
Monica Jo Raphael, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, is a fifth-generation porcupine quill artist.
“All of my work is really inspired by the woodland flora and fauna,” she said.
“By flowers that you might see in the woodlands, by animals, by birds that you might see in the woodlands.”
In this exhibition at the MSU Museum, Raphael is displaying her ceremonial rattle, a piece she calls “Golden Eagle Takes Our Prayers."
To her, the piece signifies all the prayers that were said, and sung, during the COVID pandemic.
“For us as Anishinaabe people, we have traditions, we have stories, and most of my art that I create is a reflection of those traditions or our legends, stories.”
At this exhibition, visitors will view the work of Native American artists in intricate designs depicting not only scenes from nature but also the patriotic and the political.
Pieces by younger artists here reflect more whimsical themes like pop art and anime.
“Many of them learned to quillwork via Zoom from other people sharing. There was a real resurgence during the pandemic, where a lot of our old Anishinaabe art ways were brought back, right? And so, quill work was one of them.”
Raphael learned how to work with porcupine quills from elders. Her technique for making quill boxes reflects a passion for maintaining the methods she learned decades ago.
She has practiced this art long enough to consider herself to be an elder, and she now teaches these skills to others.
Raphael believes anything you take from the earth should be used. She refuses to kill porcupines, so most of her quills have been gathered from animals struck and killed on the road.
“Porcupines get hit by cars early in the morning after a rain,” she explained, “There’s some roads or highways that are more plentiful, and so we would, I would always make jokes that 'Oh, I’m going hunting,' and I would just go drive on those roads and look for porcupines.”
Raphael is quick to describe porcupines as docile animals, and not particularly dangerous. They don’t shoot quills at predators.
Their quills are barbed, and she has been known to stick herself like you might with a needle, but the process is pretty safe.
This is thought to be the first-ever major exhibition of Anishinaabe quill art. The MSU Museum worked with the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinaabe Culture and Liveways in Mt. Pleasant on the exhibition.
Kurt Dewhurst of the MSU Museum is on the curatorial team for the exhibition. He says the project started by doing field work with living artists.
“Because one of the questions we were always getting is 'Well, this doesn’t exist anymore,' right? 'This is something that was, that was long past,'" Dewhurst said.
"But in fact, there are a lot of quill workers in our region, and we thought this would be a way of shining a light on them.”
The exhibition is fully bilingual, presented not only in English but also in the Anishinaabemowin language. It runs through January 30th.
UPCOMING ARTS EVENTS
Ten Pound Fiddle presents May Erlewine Friday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the University Lutheran Church in East Lansing.
LCC Performing Arts will stage the world premiere of “Layers, or The Casserole Play”, this week and next. It’s a comedy about the creation of the casserole. Opening night is Friday, October 9 at 7 p.m. in the Gannon Building’s Black Box Theatre.
On Saturday, October 10 “Beatles vs. Stones, A Musical Showdown” brings the tribute bands Abbey Road and Satisfaction to the Potter Center in Jackson. The music starts at 7 p.m.
TRANSCRIPT
Scott Pohl: With Inside the Arts, I'm Scott Pohl. At the Michigan State University Museum, visitors can see a major exhibition of Native American artworks through January. It includes dozens of examples of boxes created with birch bark, sweetgrass and porcupine quills.
For Inside The Arts this week, I went to the museum to learn more about what visitors will see.
Monica Jo Raphael, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, is a fifth-generation porcupine quill artist.
Monica Jo Raphael: All of my work is really inspired by the woodland flora and fauna, by flowers that you might see in the woodlands, by animals, by birds that you might see in the woodlands.
Pohl: In this exhibition at the MSU Museum, Raphael is displaying her ceremonial rattle, a piece she calls “Golden Eagle Takes Our Prayers." To her, the piece signifies all the prayers that were said, and sung, during the COVID pandemic.
Raphael: For us as Anishinaabe people, we have traditions, we have stories, and most of my art that I create is a reflection of those traditions or our legends, stories.
Pohl: At this exhibition, visitors will view the work of Native American artists in intricate designs depicting not only scenes from nature but also the patriotic and the political. Pieces by younger artists here reflect more whimsical themes like pop art and anime.
Raphael: Many of them learned to quillwork via Zoom from other, you know, people sharing. There was a real resurgence during the pandemic, you know, where a lot of our old Anishinaabe art ways were brought back, right? And so, quill work was one of them.
Pohl: Raphael tells me that she learned how to work with porcupine quills from elders. Her technique for making quill boxes reflects a passion for maintaining the methods she learned decades ago.
She has practiced this art long enough to consider herself to be an elder, and she now teaches these skills to others.
Raphael believes anything you take from the earth should be used. She refuses to kill porcupines, so most of her quills have been gathered from animals struck and killed on the road.
Raphael: Porcupines get hit by cars early in the morning after a rain, and there’s some roads or highways that are more plentiful, and so we would, I would always make jokes that "Oh, I’m going hunting," and I would just go drive on those roads and look for porcupines.
Pohl: You might be wondering about the safety factor of working with porcupine quills. Raphael is quick to describe porcupines as docile animals, and not particularly dangerous. They don’t shoot quills at predators. Their quills are barbed, and she has been known to stick herself like you might with a needle, but the process is pretty safe.
This is thought to be the first-ever major exhibition of Anishinaabe quill art. The MSU Museum worked with the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinaabe Culture and Liveways in Mt. Pleasant on the exhibition.
Kurt Dewhurst of the MSU Museum is on the curatorial team for the exhibition. He says the project started by doing field work with living artists.
Kurt Dewhurst: Because one of the questions we were always getting is "Well, this doesn’t exist anymore," right? "This is something that was, that was long past." But in fact, there are a lot of quill workers in our region, and we thought this would be a way of shining a light on them.
Scott Pohl: The exhibition is fully bilingual, presented not only in English but also in the Anishinaabemowin language. It runs through January 30th.
With Inside The Arts, I’m Scott Pohl.
