Posted 10:01 a.m. Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Ho-Chunk artists bring deer hide art to life during UWL workshop
This spring, Renowned Ho-Chunk Artists Levi and Verna Blackdeer led a workshop demonstrating their Indigenous art of deer hide design. Held on the UW-La Crosse campus, the event showcased history, culture and the intricate methods they use to transform deer hides into meaningful works of art.
“I think it is kind of fun because it is taking something that someone else has no regard for and making something out of it,” said Levi Blackdeer, reflecting on the process.
The artistic technique, passed down through Levi’s mother and grandmother, involves smoking intricate patterns onto deer hide using stencils — a process the Blackdeers have refined to make more mobile and accessible for educational outreach.
UWL pre-service teachers at the workshop were given hands-on exposure to the process and inspired on how they might incorporate Indigenous art education into their future classrooms, explains Project Director Lisa Lenarz, UWL associate professor of art.
“They want to pass this down to future generations because not many people do this,” noted UWL student Amy West. “Being able to have this opportunity — opening up their culture to share with everyone — is really special.”