Description:

Join us to welcome Fern Renville and Roger Fernandes as our AY25 Artist/Elders in Residence! 

“Storytelling and Traditional Indigenous Artmaking” 

FERN RENVILLE (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) 

Fern Renville is a storyteller, artist, playwright, and enrolled citizen of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. Fern lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she is currently investigating the role of nettle fiber in Dakota material culture as a Native Artist in Residence at the Minnesota Historical Society. As part of her residency she has been using nettle plant fiber, processing into cordage, and weaving a community fishing net. In her most recent residency she worked to bring her art back to her Dakota homelands to build a connection through nettle fiber and stories, knowledge, and sharing history. 

ROGER FERNANDES (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe)  

Roger Fernandes is a Native American artist, storyteller, and educator whose work focuses on the culture and arts of the Coast Salish tribes of western Washington. He is a member of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe or Nəxʷsƛá̕ yə̕ m! and has a B.A. in Native American Studies from The Evergreen State College and an M.A. in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University. He has worked in a variety of arenas including Native education, social work, arts, and culture. As an artist he practices and teaches Coast Salish design and as a storyteller he shares storytelling as a foundational human process for teaching and healing. He currently teaches courses on storytelling and art at the University of Washington, Northwest Indian College, and other learning institutions.