Grantee: Jennifer M. Stevens
Native Citizenship: Oneida/Lakota
Location: Green Bay, Wis.
Award: 2014 NACF Regional Artist Fellowship
Discipline: Traditional Arts
Web Site: http://www.wakohsiyovisions.com/
Jennifer is among the second generation of potters to revive this Indigenous-innovated form of pottery and actively teaches next generations of ceramic artists the techniques of hand-building.
Jennifer M. Stevens creates Haudenosaunee (Iroquois-Six Nations)-style pottery that is kiln fired and shaped by hand, a practice nearly lost to the next generations due to colonization. Stevens is a member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin and a descendant of the Lakota Nation, with family in Pine Ridge, S.D.
The Green Bay, Wis.-based artist views the creation of each pot as an educational experience and a means by which she can connect with her ancestral roots. She sees the re-emergence of Oneida pottery and the creation of new works as a symbol of the resilience and strength that allows Native peoples to continue to carry traditions forward in spite of any obstacles.
