CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Arts Council has recognized a Casper author for her storytelling, naming her a recipient of this year’s Native Art Fellowship.
Leslie Colburn, an enrolled member of the Aleut Ninilchik Village Tribe, joins fellow Wyoming artists in receiving the award, which celebrates artistic excellence and aims to elevate the profiles of the state’s talented Native artists. She shares the honor with DaleRae Green of Fort Washakie, an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe.
John Thomas Brown Jr. of Riverton of the Northern Arapahoe and Wayland Bonatse of Crowheart of the Eastern Shoshone received honorable mentions.
Colburn, an award-winning children’s book author, focuses on storytelling that “uplifts, inspires, and nurtures the hearts of young readers,” according to the Wyoming Arts Council. Her books emphasize faith, kindness, and self-worth, drawing inspiration from her experiences as a mother. Her latest book, “Twinkle, the Littlest Star,” reworks the classic nursery rhyme to include the story of the birth of Jesus.
Green, a multidisciplinary artist from the Wind River Reservation, specializes in beadwork, dentalium jewelry and sewing. Her beadwork incorporates various styles influenced by her life, culture and experiences dancing at powwows. She aims to blend traditional influences with contemporary colors and styles, and she works to inspire younger generations to learn beading and preserve cultural knowledge through art. Her recent projects include new moccasin designs featuring diverse patterns and the Shoshone rose motif.
Out-of-state jurors with extensive artistic backgrounds anonymously judged the submissions. This year’s jurors were TahNibaa Naataanii, a textile artist and weaver from Shiprock, New Mexico, and Jackie Sevier, a Northern Arapaho Tribe member residing in Seneca, Nebraska.
The Native Art Fellowship is a merit-based award that recognizes artistic excellence in any medium or discipline by Native artists who reside in Wyoming. Fellowship recipients must also provide a public engagement component during the grant period. The program, funded by private donors, aims to elevate the profiles of Wyoming’s talented Native artists and celebrate their work.