Community Health Conversations: Okizi – Using Art as Tool for Healing
Angela Two Stars and Juleana Enright both share their passion for the arts and how it is a tool for healing. In this episode, they share the inside scoop with us behind the latest exhibition at the All My Relations Arts Gallery called Okizi which means healing one’s self. The mission of All My Relations Arts Gallery (AMRA) is to uplift contemporary American Indian artists through gallery exhibitions, arts programming, community workshops, writers programs, and more. Through these programs the main goals are to share Native American stories, culture, language, and traditions.
| “We wanted to share our similarities but also how and what we are doing to heal from these traumas that have been put upon our cultures.. that’s how Okizi came about as our response to migration and the Arctic Highways exhibition.” – Angela Two Stars |
Angela Two Stars is a public artist and curator. She is the director of All My Relations Arts, a project of the Native American Community Development Institute in Minneapolis, MN. Angela is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and received her BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design. Angela’s professional arts career began at All My Relations Arts gallery as an exhibiting artist, which then led to further opportunities including her first curatorial role for the exhibition titled, Bring Her Home, Stolen Daughters of Turtle Island, a powerful exhibition highlighting the ongoing epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Angela’s public art graces the shores of Bde Maka Ska and honors the Dakota people of Mni Sota. Angela was selected as the finalist for the Walker Art Center’s Indigenous Public Art Commission which is currently installed in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
Juleana Enright is an Indigenous, queer, non-binary, freelance writer, independent curator, theatre artist and DJ. They are an enrolled member of the Lower Brule Lakota Tribe. Juleana is the Gallery and Programs Coordinator at All My Relations Arts. Their past roles have included Culture Editor for l’étoile magazine and Communications Specialist for Gamut Gallery. They have contributed to local platforms, Pride Magazine, mplsart, Primer and City Pages. Juleana has curated four art exhibitions, including Soft Boundaries and biskaabiiyang (returning to ourselves), and their most recently curated exhibit for Paradox. In 2020, they were a participating artist in “Controlled Burn” at the Phoenix Theatre, where they exhibited, “To Wash the Native Out of Us” – an audio/visual installation on the history of Indian boarding schools through the lens of intimate family experiences. Juleana is a recipient of the Emerging Curators Institute 2020-21 Fellowship program and a writer’s fellow with MnArtists.
Welcome back to Community Health Conversations, a special program from Minnesota Native News! Hosts Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) and Dr. Antony Stately Ph.D. (Ojibwe/Oneida) lead insightful discussions about the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare in Indian Country. They discuss the valuable lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore how Native communities are responding and adapting beyond COVID-19.
Resources:
All My Relations and exhibition information: https://allmyrelationsarts.org/
Get your free at-home COVID-19 tests monthly at Say Yes!
Mino Bimaadiziwin Wellness Clinic: https://www.rlpmh.org/
Renew your insurance at the Minnesota Department of Health’s website.
See qualifications and find information for the Test to Treat Program at 1-844-609-2415.
Community Health Conversations is made possible with the support of the Minnesota Department of Health. To find information about COVID vaccines and boosters, please visit MN.gov/COVID19.
Click here to listen to the conversation.