SEELEY LAKE, Mont. — Tucked among the old growth pines of the Lolo National Forest, eight Native visual artists gathered at Seeley Lake’s historic Camp Paxson for something never before offered at the grounds before — a retreat designed just for them.
The inaugural Ways of Water retreat, held this week, brought together Indigenous artists for several days of focused creation, professional development and connection to the land.
Organized by the Camp Paxson Preservation Project, the event also provided housing and $600 stipends for participating artists.
For Brandi Johnson, a Crow Tribal member with ties to the Salish-Kootenai and Kainai Nation, the experience has been a time for reflection.
Johnson, who is pursuing a nursing degree at Montana State University, describes art as inseparable from her wellness and identity. Her creative practice spans beadwork, ribbon skirts, traditional shellwork and digital art. If you’ve seen a poster for the Kyiyo Pow Wow in Missoula in recent years, that was her.
Johnson first learned about the retreat through a Facebook post. She sent in her application with images of her work.
“At the end of the day, like we just want to be seen, and we want to be understood, and one thing I’ve taken to heart is that creating art, in whatever medium necessary, will make somebody else feel seen as well,” Johnson said.
The days at Camp Paxson balance time for creation with sessions aimed at equipping artists with tools for their future. Presenters include experts in intellectual property law, museum and gallery contracting, photography for showcasing work and business practices.
Johnson sees art as vital to holistic wellness, especially in the fields of oncology and hospice care, where patients and families need outlets for expression and connection.
“To me, art is very much entangled into the health care field and, especially what I want to go into, which is oncology and hospice nursing,” Johnson said. “That traditional Native practices and modern medical knowledge like fusing those two. There’s no way of separating art from that experience and especially like coping with things like cancer and death. You need a way to express that and to feel like understood and seen.”
Much of her artmaking begins quietly, often for herself, with experiments in new media or designs simply because certain colors and textures excite her. This personal exploration often resonates with others. One beadwork set she titled “Mrs. Pretty Copper” became a turning point. What started as an act of creative freedom turned into a piece that sparked commissions, recognition and ultimately her path to the Ways of Water retreat.
While the retreat is not designed to produce immediate products, it plants seeds for the future, said Camp Paxson Preservation Project Executive Director Libby Schneider.
The Missoula Art Museum has committed to hosting an exhibition inspired by the Ways of Water theme, welcoming work from this and future years.
“There’s a lot of Western tools that don’t fit into Native culture, and so learning how to use those tools in a way that an artist will feel comfortable is these are conversations that I think aren’t had enough,” Schneider said. “So artists aren’t able to make a living being artists, and that’s what we hope to sort of bridge that gap and then be able to take these artists in the next year.”
Next year, the retreat plans to welcome 100 Native youth for educational art programming led by alumni artists, Schneider said.
“Whether it be beading or painting or ledger art, whatever mediums these artists use, so they can come back and serve their own communities as well on this land,” Schneider said.
The setting itself is just as significant. Camp Paxson, with its 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps cabins and lakeshore lodge, sits on land stewarded by the Salish and Blackfeet for generations.
Schneider said the Camp Paxson Preservation Project is still looking for funding. For anyone interested in donating, reach out to camppaxson@gmail.com.
