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Artists from across the country showed off their work at the annual Haskell Indian Art Market on Oct. 4-5. For many artists, it was a homecoming to Haskell Indian Nations University.
Artist Lori Tapahonso, Diné, tells stories through her jewelry.
"It's reclamation in a powerful way," she said to a crowd of people looking at her jewelry.
Tapahonso reclaims antique pieces and indigenizes them, she explained.
"I reimagine them, and kind of say to the world, 'What would it have been like if we were able to be part of our own country? What would it have looked like?'" she said.
Tapahonso said her work typically incorporates pieces from the Victorian era and the 1920s and 1940s.
"The concept is that there were eras in our history in the United States where we could not visibly display our culture. It was taken from us," she said.
She takes those stories and brings them to Lawrence, where she went to college — at both Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas — and built a family.
"I come back as much as I can because Lawrence, Kansas, is a second home," said Tapahonso, who lives in New Mexico.
She's not the only artist at the Haskell Indian Art Market with a history in Lawrence and at the university.
"My mother, right behind me, her name is Opal Paquin. She's been coming here since the first market they had," said L. Allen Paquin, Laguna Pueblo. "It started out with one tent."
The art of being a silversmith runs in the blood of the Paquin family. Opal said her son, L. Allen, made his first silver bracelet when he was 3 years old.
"I can honestly say that my children have followed in our family's footsteps," she said.
Opal and her two siblings attended Haskell Indian Nations University in the 1970s. Her son later played football at the university.
Both Opal and L. Allen Paquin live in New Mexico and travel to the art market every year. Opal has been attending for over 20 years.
Opal Paquin said her late husband taught her how to be a silversmith. Now, their children carry on the craftsmanship, which she said is an honor.
"Hang onto your cultural background, where you come from, always knowing who you are and what you came from," L. Allen Paquin said. "So jewelry has just been a part of my life."
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