ONEIDA (NBC 26) — Woodland Indian Art, Inc. will receive donations from annual Give BIG Green Bay event.
- Hand-crafted baskets, lacrosse sticks, raised beadwork and more make up the collection of Woodland Indian Art on display at the Oneida Hotel
- Woodland Indian Art, Inc. is one of the organizations chosen to receive funds from the annual Give Big Green Bay crowdfunding day
- The nonprofit plans to use any donations to put on their annual art show and market in November
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Here at the Oneida Hotel, art from different tribes is always on display. I'm your Oneida neighborhood reporter Pari Apostolakos. I spoke with a Native artist about the importance of keeping tradition alive.
Woodland Indian Art artist-in-resience Liandra Skenandore started learning to make baskets in 2019.
"So this is all made from the Black Ash tree that I harvest and process by hand."
The process of going out to a swamp and finding a Black Ash tree, to actually weaving the basket, can take her weeks at a time if she's working alone. She says she enjoys keeping the tradition alive.
"This is a pack basket [so] these baskets are really cool because they're custom fitted to sit against the individual's back."
Woodland Indian Art, Inc. Is one of the organizations benefiting from the Give Big Green Bay fundraiser.
"This is a huge opportunity for us to further support indigenous artists in our community," Gabrielle Metoxen, the orginization's treasurer, said. "We want the arts and culture to continue through the youth up into future generations."
Donations from Give Big Green Bay will help them to put on their annual art show and market, happening in November.
"It is our mission to make certain that the Woodland Indian tribes get as much recognition and we give them opportunities similar to what the southwestern tribes do," Woodland Indian Art, Inc. president John Breuninger said.
The Give Big Green Bay fundraiser starts Feb. 21 at noon. It ends at the same time Feb. 22.
