ARTIST BIO

Nadema Agard is a writer, editor and published author in addition to being an artist, curator, educator, museum professional and consultant in Repatriation and Multicultural/Native American arts and cultures. Since 1990 she has been Director of what is known today as, Red Earth Studio Consulting/Productions.

Ms. Agard was born, raised and educated in New York City. In 1970, she graduated from New York University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Art Education. In 1973 she received a Masters Degree in Art and Education from Teacher's College, Columbia University. As a Native American (Cherokee-Lakota-Powhatan) who has been educated and traveled internationally, she has been a bridge between urban and traditional cultures.

In New York City, Nadema has worked in publishing and with software technology as a Multicultural Consultant and Editor for Scholastic Inc. Instructional Publishing Group (1994 - 5) and as a Freelance Consultant, Writer and Illustrator for Scholastic Inc.- New Media Division (1995). She has also been a Freelance Consultant and Writer for the American Indian College Fund (1997), the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian (2002) and for the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the United Nations (2003).
 
Agard's published works include:
 
• An article, PROFESSIONAL DEVEOPMENT: Earth Day Environment Activities, Teacher's Edition of LET'S FIND OUT, Scholastic, Inc. 2003
• A children's publication, SELU AND KANA' TI: CHEROKEE CORN MOTHER AND LUCKY HUNTER, Mondo Publishing, New York, 1997
• An essay, "Art as a Vehicle for Empowerment" published in VOICES OF COLOR: ART AND SOCIETY IN THE AMERICAS edited by Phoebe Farris DuFrene for Humanities Press International, Inc. of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, 1997
• A publication, SOUTHEASTERN NATIVE ARTS DIRECTORY, Bemidji State University, 1993
• An educational outreach project, OJIBWE AND LAKOTA, A CULTURAL COMPARISON, Native American Suitcase of Plains Art Museum,1992
• An article, "Southeastern Native Artists" for ARTS & ACTIVITIES, an art educator's magazine Spring 1991
• A book review for CRAFT INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE, May 1987
• An article written for Council on Interracial Books for Children publication, ART AS A MEDIUM FOR COUNTERING RACE STEREOTYPES, Bulletin Volume 11, Number 8, 1980

CORN MOTHER

She sows her seed
into the heavens.

At the center of her heart
coagulated kernels
of blood
a life-giving
nutrient.

An excerpt from VIRGIN RAPTURE: A COMPILATION OF WRITINGS BY A VIRGINPHILE ©2001

For her artwork entitled, THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE IS THE CORN MOTHER
Acrylic on Canvas 1992

TWO WORLDS

Sometimes,
I remember the soft woods of
my ancestors,
the fragrance of cedar and pine
but
I still hear the heat from
streetlights
on summer nights in the projects
and
laughter crackling
through a bottle of ghetto
ambrosia...
and
I remember
the rustling plains of my ancestors
air pungent with sage
and singing drums
where a old women in shawls
still
sit
like mountains....
yet
I
smell
The exotic bouquet
Of an occasional bodega
Where "se vende mavi"
And "biftec" and "chuleta".

Sometimes I feel the summer warmth
of mornings
embrace
after powwow 49's
that linger in the heart
he-yah, he-yah...
but always
I'm lulled to sleep
by the rumbling reverie of the city
because I love both those worlds...
They are me.

Excerpt from A RECLAIMING THE BEAUTY: A COLLECTION OF POEMS FROM THE URBAN NATIVE WOMEN PERSPECTIVE © 1980

POWWOW, THE POETRY OF THE REZ

Against the dusky sky
dancers move
in synchronize rhythm
which flows and bops
in every conceivable expression.

The sounds of mesmerizing percussion
from the bells
of surreal resonance
follow the rhythm of the drum
which pulsates
and animates
the spirit of the arena.

The colors and symbols
of the dance regalia
often have a Day-Glo intensity
which contrasts
against the soft and velvet sky.

Sequins, mirrors, and rich deep colors
create a spirit flash
like those
evoked
from the works
of devotional art
to the Virgin of Guadalupe
in Mexico
and the altars
of sacred art in Haiti.

The rainbow of the soul
can be seen
in this sacred circle
of dancers who move
with
hypnotic grandeur.

Women in fringed shawls,
traditional dancers,
grass and fancy dancers,
grandmothers and grandchildren,
mothers and daughters,
sisters and brothers,
husbands and wives
friends and relatives
all dancing
in unison
like spokes in a giant wheel
of humanity.

Excerpt from a compilation of humorous prose and Poetry
Entitled, PRAIRIE DAZE ©1996