Boozho, hello!
“Aanii, ndinaawamagaanadog! Maygabow Ogidajew Kwe, nindizhinikaaz. Gaa-waabaabiganikaag ndoonjibaa, Migizi ndoodem. Hello, my relatives! My name is Woman Standing on the Mountaintop; Valerie St.Pierre Smith is my English name. A proud descendant of White Earth Nation, I am Eagle clan.”
Wonderer and wanderer, I am a socially engaged experimental artist and designer, educator, and scholar based in Umoⁿhoⁿ, Ní Btháska (anglicized as Omaha, Nebraska). Fascinated with fashion and the healing power of beauty from an early age, I see creation as an act of care.
Challenging notions of fine art and contemporary Indigenous representation, I combine my traditional Indigenous practices with western mediums and digital technologies to create installations, performances, and adornment. My scholarly work focuses on decolonizing art and design processes and pedagogies. Rooted in the Seven Grandfather teachings- Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, and Truth—all my work explores dress as relationship builder, embodied historical record, and social change agent.
Notably, my creative work has been seen across Turtle Island including at the National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC), the Mountain Plains Contemporary Art Biennial (Salina, KS), McCarter Theater (Princeton, NJ), Berkeley Repertory Theatre (Berkeley, CA), The Kennedy Center (Washington, DC), Sea World: San Diego, Pilobolus Dance Theatre (globally), and independent gallery and exhibition spaces. I have participated in creative residencies, fellowships, and cohorts including at Banff Centre for Art and Creativity (Banff, Alberta, CA), and Great Plains Theatre Commons (Omaha, NE). My scholarly work has reached national and international audiences, including at Banff Centre for Art and Creativity, Costume Society of America, United States Institute for Theatre Technology, and Central Saint Martins, University Arts London; and honored to be a Fulbright Scholar Program: Scotland Distinguished Scholar Award in Art and Humanities at the University of Edinburgh, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences finalist.
Proud to serve as founding board member, and the International Liasion for Turtle Island, of the International Indigenous Fashions Council, I am also a founding board member of the intertribal-intergenerational non-profit Healing Ribbons. Academically, I have served as faculty and head of costume design at The George Washington University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I hold an M.F.A. from San Diego State University and a B.F.A. from Stephens College. #beautyismedicine