Winston Publishing

44 • portfolio first peoples buffalo jump state park art exhibit and sale First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park Art Exhibit and Sale A Family Reunion for Legendary King Kuka Family By Shannon Ruckman First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park Art Exhibit and Sale Artists A dventurous art lovers must not miss visiting First Peoples State Park – home of the mile-long stretch of sandstone cliffs that Native Americans Stampeded buffalo over for at least a thousand years before Lewis and Clark's expedition through Montana. is state park is one of the few places where visitors can take in modern-day art and ancient masterpieces of early Native American painters. Kingsley "King" Kuka represented by Mariea Kuka Kqyn Kuka Kodi Kuka Kokko Kuka Khi Kuka Khol Kuka Kahly Connell Ira Henderson Tanya Werner e First People's Buffalo Jump State Park Art Exhibit and Sale in Ulm, Mont., is an annual family reunion for the Kuka family. Five of the seven Kuka children are artists like their father, the legendary Kingsley "King" Kuka, whose art is still exhibited and sold at the First People's Buffalo Jump State Park show almost 20 years aer his passing. "Every March, I take time off from work to go to the show," says Kodi Kuka, who is known for her Prisma color artwork, and is a nurse practitioner in Missoula, Mont. "I like to go for three or four days prior to the show to help my family make preparations for the show." Kodi and her siblings, Khi, Kokko, Kqyn, and Kole have produced and sold art at the First People's Buffalo Jump State Part Art Exhibit and Sale for the past eight years. Prior to displaying their family's legacy of art at the show in Ulm, Mont., the Kuka family participated in several art shows during Western Art week in Great Falls, Mont. "We used to do three art shows," recalls Khi Kuka, who works in all mediums, including painting, Prisma color, jewelry, and alabaster stone carvings. "We would run from one to another. My dad helped build Western Art Week." King Kuka was a Blackfeet artist and poet known for his paintings and lithographs. He graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Khi (Kuka) Soldano - She Feeds Us All • 3' x 5' Original FIRST PEOPLES BUFFALO JUMP STATE PARK ART EXHIBIT AND SALE Sante Fe, N.M., and developed a unique method of creating lithographs, dubbed "Kukagraphs." He shared his knowledge of his culture, art, and ways of the world with his children. "I remember I was 8 years old when my dad made me finish a print I had started," recalls Kodi. "It was a lightning bolt and a horse. He told me I couldn't leave until I got it done … I ended up winning a prize with it; it had been submied to a national elementary art contest, and I won first or second." King Kuka grew up in poverty and didn't want the same life for his children. He moved his family to Great Falls so his children could aend public school and encouraged them to get a college education. "He told us to have a job to support our art – which I am glad he gave us that guidance – because then art isn't as stressful," says Khi, a nurse practitioner in Great Falls. "He didn't want us to be starving artists." Mariea Kuka, who sells King Kuka's art, is the backbone of the family, says Kodi. "Dad would produce the art, but Mom did the bookwork and help with the prints," she recalls. "And we were like the lile minions. Whenever there was a show, we would do mass production of prints for the shows." Each year, Mariea donates one of King Kuka's artworks to a raffle at the First People's Buffalo Jump State Park Art Exhibit and Show. "You can put your name in the drawing for free, and we draw a winner towards the end of the show," says Khi. "Every year, the show gets beer and beer." e Kuka family artworks are available for viewing and purchasing at Noon at the First People's Buffalo State Park Art Exhibit and Sale at Noon on Saturday, March 18. e State Park is located 15 miles south of Great Falls, just off Interstate 15. Saturday, March 18 10 am to noon: Off-trail hike, $4 per person Registration is required, call (406) 866-2217 This hike is weather dependent. Show Opens | Noon - 3:30 pm Free admission First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park Visitor Center • 342 Ulm - Vaughn Road

• Cover