Artwork copyright Ben Marra. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Ben Marra. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.

Colville-Blackfeet Everybodytalksabout, 1994

Ben Marra
(American, born 1940)

Location: North Omak Elementary, Omak

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

The portrait Colville-Blackfeet Everybodytalksabout is part of a series of photographs by artist Ben Marra that document Native American powwow ceremonies. All photographs were taken on location, between dances, usually in about five minutes. He photographs the powwow competitors as he finds them, noting that "I am not creating anything but the light."

This photograph features two young women from the same family wearing traditional dresses. Their cultural heritage is shared between the Colville and Blackfeet tribes – that of the Plateau and Plains Indians. Marra notes, "They come from a large, proud family often seen at powwows dressed in their finest regalia and looking so beautiful. This is a family of powwow dancers. Fierce battles existed many years ago between these tribes, as the Plateau people gathered and hunted and depended on the abundance of the salmon to provide sustenance to their people. The Plains were expanding their buffalo hunting into Plateau horse country which angered the Plateaus, and created war and friction for almost a hundred years. Generations passed, and anger faded into a common bond of Native people. These little girls are today's Native children with a rich cultural heritage, dancing to honor and commemorate the families that lived before them. The girls' family name "Everybodytalksabout" is a special part of who they are. It is a name that is recognized. They are wearing traditional dresses for dancing. Buckskin dresses are usually heavily beaded across the yoke and have long fringe on the sleeves and along the bottom. This fringe represents a waterfall, continuously flowing, giving life and persevering."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Omak School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Seattle-based photographer Ben Marra creates images and portraits that document Native American powwows, ceremonies, and gatherings.
Marra earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Idaho in 1962. After his tour of duty in the U.S. Air Force, Ben studied photography at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California, receiving a degree in 1973. He established Ben Marra Photography in 1974 in Seattle, Washington.