General > Research Needed
Leah Yellowbird - Minnesota Artist
Sandy S:
--- Quote ---Scott is survived by his mother, Pamela Hanson; and sister, Leah Yellowbird; aunt, Nancy (Howard) Francis; uncles, Billy (Barb) Hanson, Maurice (Julie) Titus, and Mike (Myrna) Hanson; and cousin, Adam Hanson.
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Direct https://www.greenlarsen.com/obituaries/Scott-Edward-Hanson?obId=30657657
Archived http://web.archive.org/web/20241207181618/https://www.greenlarsen.com/obituaries/Scott-Edward-Hanson?obId=30657657
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Recently Leah Yellowbird was identified as a "First Nations Algonquin-Metis and Anishinaabe heritage artist". https://www.facebook.com/AICHOmn/photos/t.100055616906534/5412179305481299/?type=3 This is a self identification used to claim her art is Native American made. This does not comply with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 at all.
Here is a good explainer: "Being an Ethical Consumer of Native Arts and Crafts" https://floridaseminoletourism.com/native-arts-crafts/
--- Quote ---The intention of the law is to not mislead the consumer and take economic growth away from native communities.
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--- Quote ---False advertising without a single sale is prohibited.
If you violate the Act, you face up to $500,000 in fines or 5 years in prison. If a business knowingly violates the Act, they face civil penalties or fines up to $1,000,000.
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--- Quote ---As a consumer, it is important to think critically about items when purchasing them. Instead of supporting a native artist or community, without due diligence you may be causing harm.
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Read through this also: https://www.doi.gov/iacb/should-i-report-potential-violation#no-back
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The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 https://www.doi.gov/iacb/act
Sandy S:
Leah Yellowbird's vague self identification as "Metis Heritage artist" does not comply with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act either.
This original piece costs $1,400.00: https://www.rbbartgifts.com/product-page/spider-ii-leah-yellowbird-original?srsltid=AfmBOooWKnu1fKqf76ft8XNwCodY9J8MeGcOy-bxZ1WUhZSxCTKu3IgH
"The art cannot be marketed in a way that falsely suggests it is Indian produced or the product of a particular Indian tribe" - in my opinion this art piece is marketed in just that manner.
We've seen signs here of Leah Yellowbird shapeshifting as if to evade the truth-in-advertising, consumer protection law.
Advanced Smite:
The Johnson County Park and Recreation District (JCPRD) in Kansas, in collaboration with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, solicited designs for a public art project to commemorate the Potawatomi Trail of Death. Leah Yellowbird was chosen as one of three finalists to submit a design. Her design was chosen as the winner. Susan Mong, JCPRD Superintendent of Culture, said, “With all of our public art projects, we typically will put an artist call out. In this case, it was across the nation. So, anybody across the United States that had an affiliation with a Native American tribe was invited to apply."
Leah Yellowbird isn't Native American and wouldn't meet the qualifications to participate. I wonder if the JCPRD or Citizen Potawatomi Nation requested specific information from Leah about her claims of being Anishinaabe (or Algonquin and Metis) for verification. That information should be readily provided by Leah if she is claiming to be a Native American artist.
--- Quote ---Public art project will soon take shape
December 12, 2024
Tribal members will be asked to contribute images to a public art project that commemorates the Potawatomi Trail of Death.
The Johnson County Park and Recreation District in Kansas, recently announced that “Fire Keepers Circle,” by artists Leah Yellowbird and Aaron Squadroni, was selected as the winning design from among three finalists.
“Fire Keepers Circle” is comprised of a panel that features four layers. The spiritual layer expresses the spirit of the fire keepers. The trail path shows the route from Indiana to Kansas. The ancestral layer represents the number of Potawatomi who made the journey in 1838. The contemporary layer will include submissions from Potawatomi tribal members that will be imprinted on the metal.
The piece will be fabricated over a period of five to six months and then installed in the park. An official ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony is tentatively scheduled for July of 2025.
The announcement follows months of research, planning and consultation with Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal members. JCPRD officials appreciate CPN’s help to reach this important milestone.
“I’m just really grateful for all of the relationship building and the number of participants from Citizen Potawatomi Nation that just really helped guide the process and provided really great input. I think the product is going to be amazing, but the process has been really beautiful to have everybody engaged,” said Susan Mong, JCPRD superintendent of culture.
Finalists carefully selected
Mong said the county recognized the unique nature of this public art project and knew they would need to consult Native American artists for this special work.
“With all of our public art projects, we typically will put an artist call out. In this case, it was across the nation. So, anybody across the United States that had an affiliation with a Native American tribe was invited to apply,” she said.
Three finalists were selected and received the goals of the project and a site visit. The finalists also received a stipend to develop a design.
“It’s always our practice to have or to support three artists and pay them for their creativity to come up with those concepts. We had this wonderful opportunity to share those three proposed designs not only with the community here in Johnson County, but also to bring those three designs down to the Reunion (Festival),” Mong said. “That was really special to engage members of CPN from across the country around those designers and find out what emotions each of the three designs evoked in everybody. That’s so that we can get a sense of what people are gravitating towards.”
Considering the community input, the art selection committee then selected the winner.
“The community input coalesced around who we ended up selecting. There seemed to be a lot of energy around ‘Fire Keepers Circle,’” she said. “All three artists that were finalists were so heartfelt in the time and energy and emotion that they put into creating their proposal.”
Next steps
Mong and other Johnson County officials are working with Yellowbird and Squadroni as the fabrication process begins. Community engagement will continue.
“The design of the piece includes three layers. One is a contemporary layer that has all of these metallic feathers that are meant to have a little movement that will flutter in the wind. The imprints on those feathers are going to be created by members of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation as a way to represent all of those lives and the beauty of the Tribe,” Mong said.
Tribal members will have an opportunity to create a design and submit it to artist Leah Yellowbird. The designs will be imprinted on the metallic feathers of the piece’s contemporary layer.
“That’s going to be a really neat way for people all over the country to make their mark on this piece through those individual feathers,” she said. “We’ll have also opportunities for people from all over the country to send a sentiment or a design or something that represents a loved one or something about their families.”
Installation is tentatively set for June 2025. A ribbon-cutting and celebration is planned for mid- to late July 2025. Mong is eager to welcome CPN visitors as well as Johnson County and other area residents.
Gaining understanding
The park receives more than 800,000 visitors annually. JCPRD officials are also preparing for a large increase in visitors when the 2026 FIFA World Cup visits the region. Mong is hopeful this new art piece will help local and international visitors gain a greater understanding of some aspects of American history.
Mong said many tribal Nations have their own removal stories but not every story is acknowledged. Working on the public art project has helped her gain a greater understanding of history, an experience she hopes others will appreciate.
“It’s been a really great journey for me to just learn about what that next generation is doing to keep the memory, to keep the story and that pride of that connection alive. I’m interested to learn more because I know that this is really the tip of the iceberg of other events that have happened around me and places I grew up,” she said.
In addition to the art, Mong said the county is planning an interpretive panel near the art that will explore some of the history involved. CPN will be involved in the production of the panel as well, she said.
Mong said she’s deeply grateful for the chance to meet Tribal citizens at the 2024 Family Reunion Festival and to connect with the Cultural Heritage Center staff.
“Everyone who did offer feedback at the Family Reunion, each comment was read by our committee and was appreciated,” she said. “I just want to say thank you to the (CPN) community and the staff of the Cultural Center. And for everybody that took time during the Festival to provide that feedback, it was really important and really appreciated.”
To learn more about the Johnson County Heritage Park public art project, visit cpn.news/heritagepark.
Source: Citizen Potawatomi Nation Blog - Public Art Project Will Soon Take Shape
Direct Link: https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2024/12/12/public-art-project-will-soon-take-shape/
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/tg0HL
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Advanced Smite:
Below is a more recent Citizen Potawatomi Nation blog post about Leah Yellowbird and her "creative partner" Aaron Squadroni being chosen to create a public art project in commemoration of the Potawatomi Trail of Death. Installation is planned for June 2025. Hopefully, the Johnson County Park and Recreation District and Citizen Potawatomi Nation will start asking Leah for more information about whether she's actually a Native American artist sooner rather than later. It's (unintentionally) tragically ironic that pretendian Leah has been chosen to commemorate the Potawatomi Trail of Death with her art...especially if the two finalists that weren't chosen are actually Native American.
--- Quote ---‘Fire Keepers Circle’: Artist Leah Yellowbird shares inspiration
December 18, 2024
First Nations Algonquin-Métis and Anishinaabe artist Leah Yellowbird works in a variety of mediums, from paint to beads. She has a reverence for traditional imagery and methods, resulting in works that reflect the culture of Indigenous people.
Her inspiration resulted in “Fire Keepers Circle,” which will commemorate the Potawatomi Trail of Death in Johnson County, Kansas. The Johnson County, Kansas, Park and Recreation District recently announced “Fire Keepers Circle” was selected from among three finalists for a public art project.
Yellowbird and her creative partner, Aaron Squadroni, have collaborated on similar projects. With Yellowbird’s creative background and Squadroni’s architecture skills, they have found the perfect mix.
“Everything I am, he is the opposite. I’m high strung, he’s more calm,” she said. “It’s like this perfect union for me, this person who isn’t anything like me. I got lucky there.”
Squadroni first heard about the Trail of Death art project proposal and felt Yellowbird would have the necessary creative background. He previously worked for an architecture company that applied to work on large, public art projects.
A clear vision
Yellowbird said she carefully researched the Trail of Death. She understands how necessary the art project was.
“I’ve always said when stuff gets difficult for me that I have no right to complain because of the people that came before me. I’m not walking on snow barefoot for hundreds of miles. I’m not watching my child fall and die and not being able to do anything about it. What do I have to complain about? Absolutely nothing,” she said.
After imagining herself in the place of the Potawatomi who fell and those who survived, she had a very clear vision of what she wanted the piece to look like.
“I knew right away exactly what I wanted the sculpture to look like and what I wanted to do. I want a place where you could sit and hear the wind go through those walls. It’s like it is the sound of my ancestors talking. So, I am very excited to do it,” Yellowbird said.
Including Tribal members
CPN Tribal members will be able to contribute to the project in a significant way. Yellowbird is assembling an informational packet that will help Tribal members add to part of the design that resembles a feather.
“We’re going to ask people to put a pattern on that feather, whether it’s a pattern that’s on your regalia that you wear, a pattern that your family uses on their regalia or it’s something you have in your house or something that you love, something that moves you,” Yellowbird said. “Draw the pattern on and then we’ll put it on the metal. And then they’ll be able to pick out their feather on the sculpture. I think it’s kind of cool to be a part of this memorial and say, ‘Here I am.’”
Yellowbird and Squadroni plan to begin their outreach to CPN Tribal members in January 2025. She will keep everyone informed about the ribbon cutting ceremony for “Fire Keepers Circle.”
“To me, it’s like the community is part of it, too. I want to make sure that if anybody wants to attend, they can,” she said.
Reaching all visitors
She hopes non-Native visitors will not only appreciate the beauty of the art and the location, but also feel the weight of what took place. Plans are for the space to have a QR code that visitors can click on and hear narration about the exhibit.
“Everybody feels differently in different situations, but I’m hoping that anyone who sees it and knows what it’s about, we can get that across because of how serious it was and the devotion of the people that walked behind their leaders, what they left behind and the people they left behind,” she said.
She said portions of Native American history often go unacknowledged or are misunderstood.
“I often say to people who are non-Indian, when they start talking about residential schools. I tell them when the last residential schools were closed and they’re always shocked. They thought it was in the 60s,” she said. “I tell them, ‘No, this was happening for a long time.’”
She is happy to be able to help Indigenous people tell their own stories.
“Nobody’s going to understand it better than the person in it. My family didn’t live on that reservation, but I can’t stress enough that it still was so important to me to make sure that people knew who I am and what I’m about,” she said.
Follow Leah Yellowbird Art on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/LeahYellowbirdArt
Source: Citizen Potawatomi Nation Blog - ‘Fire Keepers Circle’: Artist Leah Yellowbird Shares Inspiration
Direct Link: https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2024/12/18/fire-keepers-circle-artist-leah-yellowbird-shares-inspiration/
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/lxaKV
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Advanced Smite:
This is an excerpt from the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center website about the Potawatomi Trail of Death public art project. To be eligible, an artist must have a tribal affiliation that is recognized. Leah Yellowbird claims to be "First Nations Algonquin-Metis and Anishinaabe." I'm not sure what she means by "First Nations Algonquin-Metis" as Algonquin-Metis doesn't exist or really even make sense. I haven't been able to find anywhere she specifies an Anishinaabe tribe/band which is a red flag. In my opinion, based on Leah's genealogy, she could only enroll in a fake state recognized tribe because she is not Native American.
--- Quote ---Artist Eligibility:
The public art opportunity is open to professional artists residing within the United States with a tribal affiliation that is recognized. If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact us at jcprdpublicart@jocogov.org.
Artist Stipend:
The artist stipend for this project is $100,000. This stipend, payable to the artist, is to include artist design fee, labor, fabrication, materials, transportation costs, a community engagement activity, and any mounting or hardware costs associated with the installation.
Source: Heritage Park Public Art Project
Direct Link: https://www.jcprd.com/1968/Heritage-Park-Public-Art-Project
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/C2hvX#selection-831.0-839.1
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