Our First Village Mural Project is Complete!

This summer, village artist Annie Humphrey led our first community mural project.

It was a powerful experience.

Four panels were painted by youth in four different summer camps on the Leech Lake Reservation and nearby rural communities. While we worked to bring the image to life, we talked about experiences growing up on the reservation and in small towns or rural places.

We also heard how young people are feeling about their connections to place, nature, culture and family. Some of the ideas sparked at these art camps will become the seeds of future Fire in the Village programs.

Although we all come from different families and have different relationship with our communities, as well as different experiences and beliefs about the wider world, this creative activity brought us into a circle where we could recognize our connections. We also felt the power of creating something beautiful and much bigger than any one of us could do alone.

We displayed the final mural at First Friday Art Walk in Grand Rapids and talked to people there about the power of art & cultural organizing to encourage connection & love for our places and communities.

The mural will be installed on the Leech Lake Reservation for people living there or visiting to enjoy.