Title: Niitsitapi (The People)

Artist: Craig T Marks

Tribal Affiliation: Pikuni (Blackfeet Nation)

Year Completed: 2022

Medium: graphite, Acrylic, Latex on canvas

Dimensions (HxWxD): 48" x 96" x 4"

Description/Inspiration:

Artist was challenged by a peer to "work larger." In an attempt to meet this challenge and still pay homage to the artist's roots in ledger art, the treaty 7 documents of 1877 were recreated on the canvas. Then the large male iinii (bull American plains bison) was added. Originally Ninastako (Chief Mountain) and its surrounding ranges were to be included but proved to be too much for the composition. Instead, Blackfoot pictograms depicting a mountain range were incorporated into the background. Traditionally these images would appear above the earth line at the bottom of the page but were added along with prominent star constellations behind the text of the document to give a different sense of depth.

Artist Bio:

Craig Marks is a Florida Suncoast fine artist and illustrator who resides in St. Petersburg with his wife and six children. A Pikuni descendant, the cultural influence of the Blackfeet culture is evident in his body of
work. He has developed strong relationships within the Blackfoot Confederacy and has gained recognition as a ledger artist. The titles of many of his works are in the Blackfoot language, in the hopes of inviting non-native viewers into conversations that dismantle stereotypes, and address inequities still existing in the 21st Century.

Artist Statement:

The Peace Love Art Indigenous Collective is a deeply personal experience, allowing me to show express my gratitude for those who have brought me to this point in my life. As an adopted child, I was blessed with a home and people who loved me and gave me everything. Like any adopted child, I had questions about who I was, and where I came from and left me with an emptiness I had accepted as one I would have to live with.

When I found my birth family, that began to change. Eventually it would be art that opened the doors to understanding my past and finding my ancestors. Each face I paint has a story to tell. Every being depicted on my canvas or rendered on paper has honored me with sharing their story with the world before it is forgotten. Every line on paper or stroke of my brush brings life and spirit to a surface that
was once lifeless.

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