RCAH

The seven shiny and beautifully decorated lowrider bicycles that will be on display September 6-28 in MSU's LookOut! Gallery in Snyder Hall reflect more than an interest in getting from Point A to Point B: handmade by area Native American students, they are a direct connection to Anishnaabeg traditions of sustainable travel and respect for sacred teachings.

"Anishnaabensag Biimskowebshkigewag: Native Kids Ride Bikes" was organized by Dylan Miner, assistant professor in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities. The project brought together middle school participants in the Lansing-area Indigenous Youth Empowerment Program summer camp and high school students in Lansing Eastern High School's Native American Club with MSU students and Native American artists to build bikes based on the sacred Anishnaabeg teachings known as Niizhwaaswi G’mishomisinaanig, or Our Seven Grandfathers. These seven core values, seen in the pennants strung throughout the gallery, include concepts such as Nbwaakaawin (Wisdom), Zaagi’idiwin (Love), Minaadendamowin (Respect), Aakwa’ode’ewin (Bravery), Debwewin (Truth), Dibaadendiziwin (Humility), and Gwekwaadiziwin (Honesty). 

The idea for the project started when Miner received an Artist Leadership Program fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian last year. He spent weeks immersed in archives in and around Washington, D.C., to gain inspiration and renew cultural connections. Knowing that indigenous people have historically traveled in sustainable ways, Miner visited the museum's Cultural Resources Center to study Native transportation items such as carts, canoes, and shoes that were eventually replaced by the automobile, plane, or bicycle.

"I've been thinking about the role of bicycles within Native communities for a few years now," Miner says. "Since the bicycle is ridden by an estimated one billion people throughout the world, I have continued to wonder what role it plays in the revitalization of indigenous societies as well as its potential as a sustainable mode of transportation. This exhibition and community collaboration are an outgrowth of these earlier activities."

On his return to East Lansing, Miner created the Youth Public Art Project, working with Native youth over a period of several months to create the bikes.

The LookOut! Gallery is open Monday-Friday, noon - 2:00 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. A reception for "Anishnaabensag Biimskowebshkigewag: Native Kids Ride Bikes" will be held on Wednesday, September 28, at noon in the gallery.

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Photos below by RCAH student Ariel Vida. 

ABOVE: Dylan Miner (left), discusses bike construction with students in the the Lansing-area Indigenous Youth Empowerment Program summer camp and high school students in Lansing Eastern High School's Native American Club. 

ABOVE: Bike construction.

ABOVE: Bike construction.