NATIVE ARTISTRY: 52nd annual Trail of Tears show opens, presents awards

Apr. 10—The 52nd annual Trail of Tears Art Show opened to the public April 8, and showcased 137 works of pottery, basketry, digital art, and more by Native artists.

TOTAS is the longest-running juried art show of Native American art in Oklahoma and this year featured 92 artists representing 19 different tribal nations. Awards and honors were announced during a special reception for artists and supporters April 7.

Cherokee Nation Chief of Staff Corey Bunch led Friday evening's award presentation.

"The Trail of Tears art show began in 1972 as a means of fostering the development of painting as a form of expressing the Native American heritage in the area of the Cherokee Nation," said Bunch.

That first year, Bunch said the show was held in the rain shelter of the Tsa-La-Gi Theater.

"Over the years, the art show has expanded its categories, sponsorships, and professionalism, but it's still here because it never lost the fundamental purpose of supporting the artists and expressing our Native culture," he said.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the tribe's support of the Native art community is at an all-time high.

"We are working every day to support the arts across the Cherokee Nation reservation and beyond through historic investments like the Cherokee Artist Recovery Act and by calling on Congress to amend the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act to better protect the rights of Indian artists," said Hoskin in a recent press release. "From authentic art shows and new venues for art and cultural demonstrations to historic investments, the best days are certainly ahead of us."

TOTAS had nine categories for entry and awards were presented for first, second, third, and honorable mention in each. Five special honors were also awarded.

In the painting category, Norma Howard of the Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation won first for "Picking Wild Onions"; in sculpture, Jon Williams of the Cherokee Nation won first for "Moses Bearpaw"; in basketry, Vivian Cottrell, a Cherokee National Treasure, won first for "Basket of Berries"; in pottery, Crystal Hanna, Cherokee Nation, won first for "Oklahoma Alligator"; in jewelry, Tiffany Reiter, Cherokee Nation, won first for "Wanderlust"; in graphics, Dylan Cavin, Choctaw Nation, won first for "The Man from Osage"; in miniatures, Norma Howard, Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation, won first for "Choctaw Camp"; in diverse art forms, Julie Burk, Cherokee Nation, won first for "Lost and Found"; in photography/digital art, Jeff Edwards, Cherokee Nation, and won first "Cherokee DNA Tree of Life."

Jeremy Thompson of the Seminole Nation won the Trail of Tears award for "Simanó-li: Far From Home"; Laney Cully of the Cherokee Nation won first in the emerging artists category for "Walnut in Stages"; Robin Stockton of the Cherokee Nation won the Jennie Ross Cobb Photography Award for "Strength Revealed"; Tama Roberts of the Cherokee Nation won the Betty Scraper Garner Elder Award for "Taking Flight"; Tonia Hogner-Weavel, a Cherokee National Treasure, won the Bill Rabbit Legacy Award for "Turkey Glow"; and the grand prize winner was Roy Boney Jr. for his piece "Her Name is Wild Rose."

Check it out

The Trail of Tears Art Show is on display until May 6. The gallery at Cherokee Springs Plaza is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.