{"id":33189,"date":"2026-08-11T17:58:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/?p=33189"},"modified":"2026-08-11T17:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:58:17","slug":"unexpected-gift-brings-128-indigenous-artworks-to-macalester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/unexpected-gift-brings-128-indigenous-artworks-to-macalester\/","title":{"rendered":"Unexpected Gift Brings 128 Indigenous Artworks to Macalester"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer, Macalester College acquired dozens of remarkable Indigenous artworks donated to the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) by the estate of Robert C. Leestma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collection features contemporary Inuit printmaking from the 1980s through the early 2000s, including stone cuts, lithographs, and etchings created by Inuit family printmakers at Kinngait Studios. It also includes Inuit carvings crafted from soapstone, bone, horn, and ivory, showcasing the diversity, skill, and cultural significance of Inuit artistic traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe opportunity to receive this gift was a delightful surprise,\u201d says Law Warschaw Gallery director and curator Heather Everhart. \u201cAt the college collection level, we\u2019ve not had a gift of Indigenous art at this scale and quantity, so this rich archive of Inuit work is particularly exciting. We\u2019re incredibly grateful. The breadth and depth of the collection is a great complement to Macalester\u2019s beloved printmaking program while also greatly expanding and strengthening Indigenous representation within our art collection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Qavavau Manumie \u1472\u1559\u1559\u1405 \u14aa\u14c4\u14a5, Migration of the Whales<\/em>, 2002<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The collection was divided between Macalester College and St. Olaf College through a collaborative acquisition effort carried out by the Associated Colleges of the Midwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiven their academic strengths and institutional commitments, Macalester and St. Olaf are exceptionally well positioned to care for this remarkable collection for generations to come,\u201d says ACM President Lisa Jasinski. \u201cACM is grateful for the partnership of both colleges in ensuring that Mr. Leestma\u2019s vision will continue through teaching, scholarship, and meaningful engagement with Inuit art and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macalester College received a broader collection of Subarctic Indigenous artworks valued at approximately $28,000. Together, the institutions acquired 209 works of art, with 128 pieces becoming part of Macalester\u2019s permanent collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe artworks\u2014primarily stone block and stencil prints, along with a few excellent carvings\u2014depict traditional and modern Inuit life and spirituality in the subarctic: seal hunting, dog sledding, the northern lights, and playful images of families and animals,\u201d says Everhart. \u201cAs a vital storytelling medium, they share cultural history and the human connection to nature through Arctic wildlife, ways of life, and spiritual legends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nikotye Mills, Following the Route<\/em>, 1996<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Initial inventory work for the gift was supported by the Macalester Native and Indigenous Initiative Programming Fund. This funding allowed the college to hire two alumni, Kalei Ganser \u201925, CHamoru\/K\u0101naka Maoli and Lucas Wood \u201925 to photograph, inventory, and complete condition reports for the newly acquired works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collection is housed in the Fine Arts Department\u2019s storage facility in the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center alongside the rest of Macalester\u2019s art collection. The works are maintained in climate-controlled conditions, with prints stored in flat files that protect them from light exposure and potential damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The college is developing educational programming surrounding the gift that will allow students to learn firsthand about collection practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mary Pudlat, The Whale Hunt<\/em>, 1990<\/figcaption><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pieces “share cultural history and the human connection to nature,” according to Law Warschaw Gallery director and curator Heather Everhart.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":875,"featured_media":33201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[34],"class_list":["post-33189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-newswire","tag-art-and-art-history"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"fields":{"main_feature_story":"","custom_image":false,"custom_link_url":"","custom_feature_title":"","custom_feature_caption":"","custom_markup":"","custom_markup_link":"","custom_markup_title":"","custom_markup_caption":"","byline":"","article_type":false,"post_thumbnail_style":"default","flickr_photoset_id":"","youtube_id":"","square_thumbnail":false,"press_downloads":false,"press_photos":false,"story_title":"","story_caption":"","rotations":false,"maps":false,"marker_title":"","marker_text":"","geographic_location":false,"feature_embed":"","news_icon_name":"","image_options":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/875"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33189"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33205,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33189\/revisions\/33205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}