November Arts: New Las Vegas gallery opens as Native artists reclaim traditions

Fawn Douglas tightly weaves heavy conduit wire to form the base of a basket at the new Wai Gallery in Las Vegas.

Douglas, a citizen of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, is using urban materials to create a piece for display.

The gallery and its adjacent storefront opened just before National Native American Heritage Month begins.

The space is designed to dismantle stereotypes about Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

Douglas says the venue helps people have actual conversations away from their phones.

The gallery also features a desert interpretation of Vincent Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' with a silhouetted Joshua tree.

That painting supports a call to make Gold Butte a national monument in Nevada.

Douglas states that Native American art is not just geometric and that every piece has a narrative.

A black and white underwater photograph of a Hawaiian dancer is also on display.

The image is titled 'Ha'ina 'ia mai,' which translates to 'let the story be told.'

In Kipnuk, Alaska, the Paul family returned to the tundra to pick salmonberries.

They gathered the fruit one year after Typhoon Halong damaged 90% of village buildings and displaced residents. Heavy snow last winter led to a good berry year according to locals. Burt Paul scanned the green grass for the orange berries, known as naunraqs in coastal Yup'ik. The family filled a five gallon bucket with enough fruit for Burt Paul to make his famous naunraq pie. Caley Paul said returning home to see the community was heartwarming. The Pauls typically camp for several days but took shorter trips this summer to reunite with scattered family members. In North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the rights of a local water system. The NAIWA Daughters, a group of girls ages 10 to 17, led the effort after receiving training on the rights of nature. They carried a vessel of river water to the council meeting. The resolution grants the waterway five rights including the right to flow freely and be free from pollution. The Earth Law Center says it is the first all female led rights of nature effort in the United States. The council also passed a measure to fund the removal of the decommissioned Ela Dam. Jasmine Smith, co founder of the NAIWA Daughters, said the group holds the responsibility of stewarding the headwaters. In Arizona, Rosa Soto Alvarez leads the Pascua Yaqui tribe's ICWA Committee. She has cared for 25 foster children in her home. Soto Alvarez was placed with another family on the reservation under the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act. She said she is a rez girl trying to make a difference for children who do not have a voice. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Kerry Butler, 67, still fits into his old boxing jacket from the 1970s. Butler, who is Muscogee and Cherokee, joined the Tulsa Indian Youth Center team at 15. He said the center helped build confidence among Native youth who had low self esteem. A new nonprofit, Tulsa Indian Community Center Inc., has formed to provide another gathering space for youth. More than 60 tribes are represented in the Tulsa Public Schools district. In Oklahoma City, Hodokii Johnson, 24, tattooed three brown lines on the fingers of Kristin Gentry. Johnson is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and a descendant of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. They work with Inchunwa, a project dedicated to healing through traditional tattoos. Johnson said tattoos are sacred work because of their permanence and meaning. They noted that colonization weeded out much of the tattoo tradition. In Minneapolis, students at the Wicoie Nandagikendan early childhood program trekked through snow to learn about maple syrup making. They visited Porky's Sugarbush Camp to tap trees and process sap. The program immerses children in Ojibwe and Dakota languages. Teacher Liz Zoongwegiizhigook Zinsli said the curriculum hits state standards while focusing on cultural indicators.