Artist STATEMENT
ENDAZHI-DABENDAAGOZIYAAN
The Place Where I Belong
I am an Anishinaabe birchbark and beadwork artist. My aspirations are to exhibit my latest birchbark adornments. I have a set of three birchbark medallions with woodland floral designs crafted from birchbark. I paired the medallions with antique trade beads and bone hair pipe. As Anishinaabe, we’ve used birchbark in so many different ways, from hunting and gathering to food preservation, our shelter, and transportation. Today, among many tribes, working with birchbark has turned into an endangered art. I want people to be able to use birchbark in their daily lives again. To have their hands on birchbark. To work with it. To be excited about it. I’ve been making birchbark jewelry for about 10-15 years now and just recently I faced a challenging period of my life where I’ve been questioning what my purpose was. I recently stepped away from social work and wanted to try to push my birchbark art a little further to see what the possibilities would be. I made my first birchbark medallion with all of these thoughts and when I finished it, I knew that my purpose was not only to create, but to share this way of life with others.
Throughout history, Anishinaabe people would offer their asemaa for guidance; to learn a greater purpose. Some have been so lucky as to have a vision or a dream that would come to help them and their people. Through our offerings, we’ve been blessed with many special teachings- how to properly harvest food or medicine, or the proper place/way to live Mino Bimaadiziwin, “the good life.” All things start and end with a proper offering of asemaa, which was definitely the most important part of creating my first medallion. “We are exactly where we are supposed to be in this life at this time.” The name of my first medallion is “Endazhi-dabendaagoziyaan: “the place where I belong.” It also speaks the relationship Anishinaabe people have with their homelands. Through a prophetic vision we were said to create our homes where the food grows on water. This is the place/time/life we are supposed to create for ourselves.
About the Artist
Melissa Fowler is an Anishinaabe diverse media artist who works with beadwork, textiles, and birchbark. She is the co-owner of Creatively Indigenous, creating and selling birchbark, buckskin, and bull horn jewelry and beadwork. Niigaaniigaabowikwe is her Anishinaabe name, meaning “first standing woman.” She is a Lac Courte Oreilles tribal member with ties to Fond du Lac and Red Cliff tribes and has been a St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin community member for over 24 years where she resides with her husband, Thomas, and seven children.
Melissa graduated from Lac Courte Oreilles University in 2011 with an Associate of Arts degree in Casino Management and a 2016 graduate from University of Wisconsin Stout with a Bachelors of Science in Human Development Family Studies. Melissa worked for the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin from 2002 until 2018. While beginning in various casino roles, Melissa transitioned into social work in 2013. In 2018 she decided to embark full-time in her business, Creatively Indigenous, an endeavor which allowed her to work from home as a foster and adoptive parent while raising her 7 children.
Melissa explains that she has always loved art. As a teenager she recalls enjoying pottery and painting, but her journey in traditional Anishinaabe art began over 15 years ago when she received her Anishinaabe name and started to embrace ceremonies. “I was drawn to birchbark right away; it was my gateway into other mediums, and I learned how to bead by beading on birchbark. Old woodland style adornments inspire me. I love pairing contemporary materials and styles with traditional materials and techniques to create unique art that pushes traditional Anishinaabe art further.”
Melissa is the first mother in her matriarch, for generations, to reconnect and revitalize culture and identity within her family lineage. Because assimilation severed the natural process of culture and heritage from being taught and learned in her family, cultural learning and revitalization is an ongoing pursuit of hers. She strives to expose her 7 children to culture and ceremonies as much as possible. One way she does this daily is through traditional Indigenous Anishinaabe art.
As an Indigenous Anishinaabe traditional artist, Melissa finds so much healing in art. “We are seeing a wealth of scientific research, new studies consistently published, that attests to what us Anishinaabe have always known; that there is powerful healing medicine in art. It’s a powerful buffer to mental health and wellbeing. It’s important that we continue to tell the stories and share the lessons and teachings that allow us to heal individuals, family systems, and our communities. Traditional art allows us to do all these things, so it’s an important piece of our health to continue this good work. For our future generations to access this knowledge, we need to have strong, ambitious, and motivated cultural bearers actively engaging our communities.”
@creativelyindigenous on Facebook and Instagram