Sue Gallery explores Native American culture through art

SAULT STE. Marie — The culture and history of the Native American people can be seen draping the walls of Alberta House.

September takes place at the Alberta House Arts Center in downtown Sault Ste. Marie exhibits the work of three artists and her depictions of Native American art.

Alberta House was founded in 1987 by the Soo Area Arts Council as a vehicle to promote interest in all forms of art in the Upper Peninsula. The house not only showcases historical art, but also art by contemporary local creators as a way of culturally connecting people.

Starting this month, the Gallery House has started showing works by three different original artists. Each of these artists works in a different art form to celebrate Native American culture.

Scott Laursen is a photographer and the only artist not from a Native American culture. Rosen originally grew up in Manistee and moved back to the Upper Peninsula several years ago with his wife after living in other states for 15 years.

After returning to UP, Laursen began taking Native American history and photography classes at schools such as Grand Rapids Community College and the New Hampshire Museum of Art. As part of a thesis project for her master’s degree in photography, Laursen decided to document some of the history and traditions of her Native American community in her Mills Bay.

Over the course of two years, Laursen produced 55 photographs that convey a variety of historical moments, traditions and other important images to the Bay Mills community as well as Native American communities across the country. Prior to bringing her work to Sue, Rosen had exhibited her work in Bay Mills’ Waishkee Building as part of her exhibition.

more:Bay Mills Art Exhibition Celebrates Native American Traditions and History

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Diana Lalonde, member of Sioux Cent. Mackinac of the Murray tribe Her band portrays many of the important Native American cultural figures. She currently works as an art teacher for her K-12 students in Brimley.

LaLonde draws a lot of inspiration from her experiences with nature and her own heritage. She has ancestry from Mackinac Island, Cheboygan, Canada, and more.

Lalonde often depicts constellations tracked across the sky by his ancestors, and animals commonly found in Native American stories, such as bears and turtles.