Congratulations to Roberta J. Kirk for her First Peoples Fund Community Spirit Award! This award honors Roberta Kirk for her beautiful traditional beadwork and regalia as well as her devotion and service to her community and tribe. She has been a master artist in OFN’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program and is on the Culture Keepers Roster.
(Rapid City, SD) – First Peoples Fund, a national organization supporting Native American artists and culture bearers, has named four outstanding individuals from across the country as recipients of the 2020 Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award. A nationwide committee selected the honorees, and the prestigious award includes a $7,500 grant.
“Throughout their lives these culture bearers have quietly, selflessly shared their knowledge, skills and traditions,” says Lori Pourier, president of First Peoples Fund. “Through the Community Spirit Awards, First Peoples Fund honors their generosity and shines a light on their work to restore and pass on ancestral knowledge and traditions, connecting their peoples to their greatest assets.”
Award recipients come from a wide range of tribes and creative disciplines:
- Roberta Kirk (Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon/Diné) Warm Springs, Oregon– beadwork, leatherwork, fashion design, culinary arts
- Corine Pearce (Redwood Valley Rancheria Little River Band of Pomo Indians) Sequim, Washington – basketry, weaving
- Virgil “Smoker” Marchand (Colville Tribe/Arrow Lakes) Omak, Washington – painting, sculpture
- TahNibaa Naataanii (Navajo) Shiprock, New Mexico – weaving
Named after First Peoples Fund’s founder, the Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award (CSA) recognizes exceptional artists who have shown a continued commitment to perpetuating their art and sharing it within their communities. These practicing artists embody the Collective Spirit®, and are nominated for the award by their students, mentees, fellow artists and community members.
First Peoples Fund is a national organization based in Rapid City, South Dakota dedicated to honoring and supporting Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists and culture bearers across the country. First Peoples Fund has been honoring culture bearers with the Community Spirit Award for over 20 years and over 100 artists from Maine to Alaska have been honored.
For further information about First Peoples Fund or to apply for support through one of our programs, please visit www.firstpeoplesfund.org or contact us at First Peoples Fund, P.O. Box 2977, Rapid City, SD 57709-2977.
Contact: Amber Hoy, Program Manager of Fellowships (605) 348 – 0324 amber@firstpeoplesfund.org