Jaune Quick-To-See Smith  1940-2025

An artist and citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, Juane Quick-To-See Smith created work that addressed the myths of her ancestors in the context of current issues facing Native Americans. Smith was raised on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, and drew inspiration from formal innovations of such artists as Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as traditional Native American art.  Through a combination of representational and abstract images, she confronted subjects such as the destruction of the environment, governmental oppression of Indigenous cultures, and the pervasive myths of Euro-American cultural hegemony.

Sprague's Pipit populations have declined by 3.1% per year between 1966 and 2015, resulting in a cumulative decline of 79% during that time. If current rates of decline continue, Sprague’s Pipit will lose another 50% of its population by 2043.