Three local residents are scheduled to give presentations during the Wyoming State Museum’s upcoming celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, Oct. 14: Colleen Friday, Angelina Stancampiano, and Lauren Amanda Garrett.
Friday is a Northern Arapaho artist and ecosystem scientist from Arapahoe who will offer demonstrations of her “nature-inspired artwork,” according to a press release for the event.
“Friday traces her first artistic influences to her mom and older sisters’ beadwork, and the intense discipline of sorting and stitching tiny beads during evening hours grouped around a table and the laughter of Native women,” her event bio states. “(She) works in many mediums, from beads to stencils, to aerosol mural painting, mixing elements of contemporary art and street art with geometric Arapaho symbols and portraits of historical figures.”
Friday’s studies in rangeland ecology, environment and natural resources have become interwoven in her creative work, her bio states, with her most recent project focused on beadwork as “data visualization representing geography, water, and the biodiversity of plants harbored in tribal lands.”
Garrett is an Eastern Shoshone multidisciplinary artist who will lead a coloring workshop during the event.
Her bio says her ongoing art project “Native American Flower Fairies” seeks to “increase Native American and Indigenous representation in fairy media and fantasy art,” with the first four paintings in the collection currently on display at the Fort Bridger State Historic Site Museum through June 2025.
She is also “developing coloring pages based on her paintings to foster the imagination of youth and the young at heart,” the bio says, and she “aims to create more fairy art and eventually a coloring book.”
“(She) will inspire creativity among both children and adults,” the press release states.
Stancampiano – the Shoshone District Interpretive Ranger for Wyoming State Parks and a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma – will teach participants about the important role plant life plays in human culture, the press release states.
“Angelina has been in the field of interpretation professionally for five years,” her bio states. “With a degree in biology and work with protected species, she found her way into a more public-facing role as an interpretive ranger and then senior naturalist for the state of Oklahoma. She has been in Wyoming since 2021 and is a Certified Interpretive Guide, Leave No Trace Master educator, and involved with Project Learning Tree. Angelina’s passions include connecting underrepresented groups with public lands, as well as providing adult programming.”
Attendees at Stancampiano’s hands-on ethnobotany session will create their own seed bombs to take home, organizers said.
The Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday at the Wyoming State Museum, 2301 Central Ave. in Cheyenne.
Organizers said the “main attraction” of the event is a series of live performances from Jasmine Pickner Bell, a world-champion hoop dancer and member of the Crow Creek Dakota Sioux Tribe who will perform alongside her family members at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 1:30 p.m.
“We are excited to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with an engaging lineup of activities that highlight the intersection of art, science, and Indigenous culture,” Community Engagement Curator Melisa McChesney said. “This event is a fantastic opportunity for people of all ages to learn and expand their perception of Native peoples in our region.”
For more information about the free event call (307) 777-7022.