Workshop: Forms of the Bison: Storytelling Through Clay by Cameron Decker

A free, multi-age clay workshop.
Q eyq ay 'Buffalo' is Our Good Medicine by Aspen and Cameron Decker is work that explores the buffalo's profound importance to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes through ledger art, sculpture, and multimedia. The opening reception features an artist talk at 5:30 p.m. and music by Lo Horgan Siegel Trio.
Q eyq ay 'Buffalo' is Our Good Medicine, an exhibition that bring past and present into conversation, carrying forward cultural knowledge through storytelling, research, and material practice. The Deckers’ work is deeply collaborative and grounded in education, cultural continuity, and care for the communities and histories that sustain it. This exhibition explores the profound importance of the buffalo to Tribal communities, specifically the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, through ledger art on paper and hide, sculpture, and multi-media works. The exhibition also acknowledges the history of extermination campaigns that targeted bison as a strategy to subjugate Indigenous people.
 
Aspen Decker is an enrolled member of the T at ayáqn, Ql isp é & Sqlsé (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) and a Nséli cn (Salish language) educator who holds a Montana Class 7 Native American Language and Cultural Educator license. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Tribal Historic Preservation from Salish Kootenai College and a master’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Montana. Aspen maintains Shining Camas Studio, where she works primarily in ledger art.
 
Cameron Decker is Diné, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and a descendant of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. He holds a Master of Arts in Integrated Arts Education and is the former chair of Fine Arts at Salish Kootenai College. Together, Aspen and Cameron founded X lx ilt "Alive and Well" a Séli Education organization dedicated to expanding access to authentic Indigenous education experiences.