In Their Own Words...

Lucy A. Ganje, professor emerita of art/graphic design at the University of North Dakota, will give a free presentation about the art installation In Our Own Words: Native Impressions. A collaboration of three artists including Ganje who set out to discover contemporary American Indian people and their stories, the exhibit chronicles the stories of a range of individuals including a former marine, a grieving mother, a farmer, university presidents, and more from four of North Dakota’s American Indian reservations. It features a portrait and a personal oral history of each individual, with recurring themes that include the legacy of boarding schools, climate, and energy. Ganje, who used letterpress to design each participant’s story, will speak to the process, concept, and production of Native Impressions. She will be joined in conversation by Denise Lajimodiere of Belcourt, who is featured in the exhibit. Lajimodiere, also an artist and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, will speak to the use of art as historical record and discuss her own participation in this project. In Our Own Words: Native Impressions is on display through Feb. 2019 in the Russell Reid Auditorium Hallway and the Merlan E. Paaverud Jr. Gallery.