BEST MISDEMEANOR.

>> Eric: THANKS FOR COMING OVER AS ALWAYS.

>> MY PLEASURE, THANK YOU.

>> Eric: GOING TO SWITCH GEARS HERE.

EARLIER THIS MONTH ONE GREATER MINNESOTA REPORTER KAOMI LEE WENT TO THE WHITE EARTH RESERVATION TO MEET TWO ANISHINAABE ARTISTS.

BOTH CREDIT THEIR GRANDMOTHERS FOR THEIR WORK TODAY.

>> MY NAME IS KEN ESTEY, MY GIVEN NAME MEANS WALKS ALONG THE WOODS.

I PAINT A LOT ABOUT THE WOODS SO THAT WAS AN APPROPRIATE SPIRIT NAME.

>> THE ARTIST IS 6 YEARS OLD AND ENROLLED TRIBAL MEMBER OF WHITE EARTH NATION.

>> I LIVE IN THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE.

THIS LITTLE PLACE, THIS LITTLE TOWN CALLED NAY THAT HAD WASH.

ESTEY HAS A DEEP CONNECTION TO THE PLACE, HIS FAMILY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TO LIVE ON THE WHITE EARTH RESERVATION.

>> WHAT I PAINT TODAY COMES FROM THIS AREA, THIS VILLAGE OF NAY THAT HAD QUASH AND SURROUNDING LAKES AND TRAILS.

BUT ALSO IT'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO IS SEE TODAY.

NOT WHAT I'VE ALREADY SEEN.

YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF BRIGHT COLORS AND BOLD COLORS.

I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE A LOT OF COLOR.

I EVEN USE FLUORESCENT PAINT IN MY WORK BECAUSE IT'S THE BRIGHTEST PAINT THAT I CAN FIND.

>> THE RETIRED TECHNOLOGY TEACHER WAS SECRETLY PAINTING FOR DECADES, BUT IT'S ONLY IN THE LAST TEN YEARS HAS ESTEY SHOWN HIS PAINT ENGINES PUBLIC.

>> COME FROM A FAMILY OF BLACK ASH BASKETMAKERS, SO I WAS PROBABLY SUPPOSED TO BE A BASKET MAKER.

AND I MADE BASKETS MY ENTIRE LIFE, BUT IT WASN'T MY THING.

>> HIS GRANDMOTHER, JOSEPHINE ROBINSON WAS AN ACCLAIMED BLACK ASH BASSET MAKER, HER WORK CAME OUT OF HER EXPERIENCES OF FORCED ASSIMILATION AT AN INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL.

ESTEY PICKED UP A PAINT BRUSH AND BEGAN PAINTING PHOTOGRAPHS ON OIL AND CANVAS.

>> AS PEOPLE TARTED TO FIND MY WORK, THEY WOULD SAY, WELL, YOU'RE A NATIVE ARTIST, COULD YOU PUT SOMETHING NATIVE IN THAT THING?

COULD YOU PUT A TEEPEE IN THERE?

>> IF I'M NOT MAKING BASKETS LIKE MY RANDMOTHER AND GRANDFATHER AND MY BROTHERS AND I'M NOT PAINTING NATIVE AMERICAN THINGS, WHO AM I?

THEN I FOUND THE WORK OF GEORGE MORRISON.

>> MORRISON'S LANDSCAPES HELPED REDEFINE NATIVE AMERICAN ART IN THE 20TH CENTURY.

MOST IMPORTANTLY IT, SPOKE TO ESTEY.

HE STARTED TO PAINT AGAIN BUT WITH ACRYLICS AND HIS HANDS.

>> MY TREES STARTED TO LOOK DIFFERENT.

THE COLORS AND THE BACKGROUND OF MY SKIES, YOU KNOW, STARTED TO CHANGE AND GET BRIGHTER AND BOLD.

IT WASN'T UNTIL I STARTED PAINTING WHAT I FELT.

THAT'S WHEN PEOPLE STARTED NOTICING.

>> ESTEY OWNS THE ONLY ART GALLERY IN ANAYTAHWAUSH.

IT'S A SMALL COMMUNITY OF ABOUT 500 PEOPLE.

NEARLY 36% OF RESIDENTS LIVE IN POVERTY.

STATEWIDE NATIVE AMERICANS ARE NINE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DIE OF DRUG OVERDOSE THAN WHITE FOLKS.

ESTEY WANTS TO TELL A DIFFERENT STORY THROUGH ART.

>> WE ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN THE BAD NEWS THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT OUR COMMUNITIES.

AND IT SEEMS LIKE RESERVATION COMMUNITIES THAT'S ALL YOU HEAR IS BAD NEWS.

SO I TRY TO TELL A STORY, A POSITIVE STORY ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY, THE FAMILIES THAT I GREW UP WITH AND LIVED IN THIS COMMUNITY THEIR ENTIRE LIVES.

>> TODAY, ESTEY'S WORK CAN BE SEEN IN EXHIBITIONS LIKE THIS ONE FEATURING INDIGENOUS ARTISTS AT THE TEXTILE CENTER IN MINNEAPOLIS, AMONG OTHERS.

>> RESILIENCY ALSO GETS PASSED DOWN.

AND I HOPE THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE SEE IN MY WORK.

THAT'S WHAT I WANT THEM TO FEEL, I WANT THEM TO FEEL THIS POSITIVE ENERGY, THIS BRIGHT ENERGY, THIS BOLDNESS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHO WE ARE TOO AS ANISHINAABE PEOPLE.

>> KENT S KIND OF A MENTOR AND HE LIKES TO BUILD PEOPLE UP.

I DO ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF ART, BUT I GUESS I'M KNOWN FOR DOING POTTERY, WOODLAND POTTERY IS A TRADITIONAL ART FOAM THAT DATES BACK THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

>> WHITE EARTH DESCENDENT LIZA CLAIR IS HELPING TO REVIVE KNOWLEDGE ONCE LOST THROUGH ASSIMILATION AND BOARDING SCHOOL ERAS.

>> IT WAS MORE OF A UTILITARIAN ARTFORM.

PEOPLE WOULD MAKE THEIR DRINKING CUPS AND BOILING POTS FOR SAP AND PARCHING RICE.

WITH WOODLAND POTTERY, IT'S ENTIRELY HAND-BUILT PROCESS.

WE DON'T HAVE WHEELS, WE DON'T HAVE KILNS, AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS, SOME OF THE FACTOR THAT MAKE IT SO ACCESSIBLE.

>> THE 26-YEAR-OLD LEARNED FROM HER LATE GRANDMOTHER.

>> MY GRANDMA JUDY TOPPINGS IS THE ONE WHO REVITALIZED THE KNOWLEDGE, SHE SOUGHT IT OUT, BROUGHT IT BACK TO LIFE, SHARED IT WITH HER COMMUNITY AND HER FAMILY AND AFTER HER PASSING IN 2021 I'VE CONTINUED HER WORK IN SHARING THE TRADITIONAL ART FORM.

>> CLAIRER SAYS WORKING ITH NATURAL MATERIALS GROUNDS HER.

>> IT'S CALLED [ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ] AND THAT STANDS FOR THE PLACE OF WHITE EARTH WHERE THE EARTH IS WHITE.

>> SHE USES STRAINING TECHNIQUES TO SIFT GRASS AND ROCKS FROM THE RAW CLAY.

>> IF IT'S WET TO FIND OUT IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT CLAY YOU CAN ROLL IT INTO SNAKE OR A WORM AND IT WILL HOLD ITS SHAPE AND YOU CAN BEND IT AND IT STAYS TOGETHER.

>> HER SIGNATURE WORK AT THE MOMENT IS MAKING TURTLE SMUDGE POTS.

SHE'S ALSO INVOLVED WITH THE MAHNOMEN ARTS INITIATIVE THAT UPLIFTS NATIVE ARTISTS AND HELPS THEM MARKET THEIR WORK.

KLARER SAYS IT'S NOT AN EASY PATH TO DECIDE ON THE RESERVATION AND PURSUE ONE'S ART.

>> THE REASON WHY A LOT OF KIDS FROM THE REZ DON'T RETURN BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE SUPPORT.

>> THAT'S WHY CONNECTIONS WITH ESTABLISHED ARTISTS LIKE KENT ESTEY ARE VITAL.

AND CARRYING ON HER PEOPLE'S LIFEWAYS IS MEANINGFUL.

>> I FEEL LIKE MY