GREAT FALLS — Great Falls is host to the Great Western Art Rendezvous with artists from all around showing their work and passion. Ben Pease, a Native American with pieces on display at the Great Western Art Rendezvous in Great Falls, says his work is much more than a price tag. It represents Native American culture and heritage.
Pease is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe near Billings and traveled to Great Falls to share his work.
“I do this because I'm thinking about what it means to be a leader. I'm thinking about what it means to protect your culture, protect the beauty that you still have,” he said.
He found his passion for art through the preservation of the Native American traditions and was inspired to help the movement of "taking back" Indigenous culture.
Pease explained, “As I see it as an artist, I think we're here today to share our creativity because the world needs beauty. You know, there's a place for raw beauty.”
A piece that he created is a portrayal Crow chief Plenty Coups. “I started with a poem in the background and it's talking about how we're still here and we're still living and we still have stories to tell. And it's powerful to be able to reclaim those stories. It's a beautiful thing," he said.
Pease hopes to inspire a new generation of Native Americans to take up art and highlight Indigenous culture in a new way.
“Being able to recognize that a Native artist can come in here and have representation for our people and help, you know, it helps us heal. It helps us grow. It helps us move on in good ways, and it helps us tell stories of our families and helps us laugh and love and learn.”
Pease said, "I think we're here today to share our creativity because the world needs beauty. You know, there's a place for raw beauty.”
One of his goals is to inspire a new generation of Indigenous artists to create: "Being able to recognize that a Native artist can come in here and have representation for our people and help, you know, it helps us heal. It helps us grow. It helps us move on in good ways, and it helps us tell stories of our families and helps us laugh and love and learn." Click here to visit his website.
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