Hand-made powwow figurines in big demand

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When Vern Harper isn't hanging out with his drum group, he likes to make stuff.

Really good stuff. Life-like recreations of contemporary powwow dancers, complete with miniature bells, jingles and feathers. Colorful figurines wearing tiny hand-stitched replicas of medicine bags, bustles and roaches.

As a traditional Plains Cree artist, he also likes to work very close to home, bringing his own cultural skills to bear on his art. And more importantly, he shares that art with his family and community.

Harper spends a lot of time on the road during powwow season. It was during a stop at Hobbema that he first got hooked on the art of figurine making when he saw an intricate handmade piece dressed in full regalia that was being auctioned off for charity.

"It was a real inspiration, a figure of a traditional dancer. Me and fellow drummer Darrell Duquette (from Thunderchild First Nation) had also seen another dressed like it in a US Native publication. We decided, 'Hey we can make do this, give it a whirl, create our own working method and just keep refining it,'" said Harper.

Harper and Duquette, traditional singer/drummers from the "Lightning Spirits" drum group, based in Mistawasis, decided to team up during the winter months and start producing a line of collectable figurines from each powwow category. They've created a line that sells as fast as the two men and their families can make them.

A full contingent of dancers now grace the offices of the Saskatoon Tribal Council as well as a number of other establishments. Three female figures wearing Jingle, Fancy Shawl and Traditional dress were recently ordered for the Women of the Dawn achievement awards in Saskatchewan.

The appeal and popularity of the figurines lies in their life-like poses and cultural authenticity, explained Harper.

"They are very three dimensional, fully sculptural and look good from every direction. We build them from the inside out and finish them off with highly authentic detailing."

The two artisans start off with a wire base set on antlers for the male figures and wood for the females. Carved wooden inserts give form to the torsos and limbs which are then formed and finished with a hard-setting plaster. Harper adds softer plaster to mold the features on the face and hands, carving it down to achieve the finishing touches.

His basic tool kit consists of carving tools and knives, sandpaper and tiny files.

Making the regalia for each figure is far more complicated, a real family affair, explained Harper.

"Many people bring us materials: small feathers from ducks and snow geese, deer, angora and porcupine hair for roaches, silk and satin for the sleeves and dresses, beads, bone and leather."

Harper starts off with his own ideas for color, design and beading patterns based on traditional Southern Plains abstract and Northern Woodland floral patterns. Family members make the fringed leggings, shirts, dresses, shawls, beaded moccasins and feather head dresses which require a lot of painstaking needlework, right down to sewing on the tiny tassels on a fancy dance bustle or securing rows of miniature jingles.

Sage asked how does one make hundreds of tiny jingles and who gets to sew them on.

"Darrell started out with 10 real snuff can lids and cut them down to fold the mini jingles. His family spent hours sewing them on. The loomwork for the beaded aprons is also painstakingly difficult to weave as is the intricate detail on the medicine bags, fans and bone knives," he replied.

Harper, who works as the band heritage interpreter in Mistawasis, was recently down in Onion Lake First Nation passing on some of his skills to his brother's family. Invited to do school demonstrations, he came up with the idea of a Velcro demo package that would teach children how to properly dress a powwow dancer and understand the cultural significance of the various pieces of regalia and how they fit together.

"It's a good way to pass on traditional values to children, our sng, dance and regalia," said Harper.

Lightning Spirits Drum, which includes Brad and Bruce Harper (ages 10 and 12), Tyler and Darrell Duquette Jr. (10 and 13), Clifford Canoemaker and manager Lawrence Johnston, is also in the business of preserving and passing on traditional values.

It was during a recent Beachfest concert in Toronto that the Lightning Spirits Drum was asked to play in front of 17,000 people, after Tom Cochrane finished a set. They really caught the attention of the crowd, especially after Cochrane jumped in and joined them.

"There was only one guy off beat," said Harper with a big grin. "The white guy."

There was another celebrity listening to the concert from a prison far away in Kansas. Frank Dreaver, head of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee in Canada had arranged for the concert to be picked up long distance over a loudspeaker and a telephone. Peltier listened over the phone from prison and sent his thanks and congratulations for a great song well played.

"We played the AIM song, a song that has become the rallying song of the American Indian Movement. The song originated during the Battle of the Little Big Horn after the Cheyenne and Dakota defeated General Custer. The warriors sang it when they rode home victorious. Peltier said that he really liked the singing and drumming," said Harper.

Harper, who was raised by Peter and Albertine Whitefish, has been inspired by their teaching to excel in his drumming, singing, dancing, regalia making and sculpture.

"They taught me 'no mamasees' which means 'lazy man's way' in Cree. They told me, as I was growing up, 'Do it right. There is no easy way or 'lazy man's way out' if you want to do well in life or art. It is an honor to do the work I do, use it wisely and share it well. That is what they taught me and I owe them everything," said Harper.