One on One: Indigenous Artists on Love Language

Jennie Kappenman is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Ojibwe and descendant of the Leech Lake and White Earth Bands of Ojibwe. Kappenman has grown up in close proximity to traditional arts. She observed her grandmothers bead at the kitchen table and sew regalia in record-breaking time. Practicing traditional arts has created local and international opportunities for her. The Science Museum of Minnesota has one of Kappenman’s custom jingle dresses and a set of velvet Ojibwe floral beadwork on permanent display. The Textile Research Centre, Leiden Netherlands, acquired a men’s applique shirt for their collections. The Minnesota History Center acquired two custom jingle dresses for their permanent collection. Kappenman also has extensive experience in culinary arts. After working as a chef for 10 years, she decided to pursue working solely in visual arts. A mentorship with Dyani White Hawk provided support and development to believe in the possibilities unknown. ChiMiigwech to her friendship and shared knowledge.

Cole Redhorse Taylor is a multidisciplinary visual artist. He is Mdewakanton Dakota, enrolled with the Prairie Island Indian Community in southeastern Minnesota. He holds a BFA in Fine Arts Studio from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and an MFA in Studio Arts from the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Taylor works both in Dakota art forms such as beadwork, quillwork, and textile work and also drawing, painting, and collage work. His artwork is informed by his people’s proximity to their homelands of Minnesota. Their material culture reflects their relationships to the land, waterways, and cosmos above. By implementing Dakota epistemologies in his practice, Taylor navigates traditional worldview as a contemporary artist.

Sadie Red Wing is a graphic designer and student advocate of the Spirit Lake Dakota and Cheyenne River Lakota Nations. She holds a BFA in New Media Arts and Interactive Design from the Institute of American Indian Arts and a Master of Graphic Design from North Carolina State University. Her research on cultural revitalization through design tools and strategies created a new demand for tribal competence in graphic design research. Red Wing urges Native American graphic designers to express visual sovereignty in their design work and encourages academia to incorporate an Indigenous perspective into their design curriculum. Currently, Red Wing is a faculty member in the Indigenous Place Keeping and Design and Visual Communication departments at Arizona State University, while obtaining her PhD in Graphic Design at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities.

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