Southern Ute Tribal member, Ollyvia Howe’s artwork was featured at the 31st Annual Four Corners Annual Indian Country Conference. The conference took place at the Sky Ute Casino Resort on Monday, Aug. 26 through Wednesday, Aug. 28, addressing the needs of crime victims in Indian Country enabling a direct collaboration between Tribal communities and a broad range of law enforcement professionals. Howe drew inspiration from local artists and created her piece based on the element of togetherness, fitting the theme of the conference.
Ollyvia Howe is a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, she is 17 years old and is currently attending Ignacio High School, where she is also actively participating in volleyball. She has been creating art for the past three years, it was during the quarantine in 2020 that Howe took the opportunity to try something new and began her art journey. She also takes after her siblings and mother, who also have strong artistic abilities.
Howe originally found out about submitting art for this conference through Anita Mayes, the art teacher at Ignacio High School, Mayes explained that Howe would make a great participant.
“My art teacher told me about this opportunity near the second to last week of school,” Howe said. “[The artwork] took many weeks to complete and I turned it in near the end of the summer, but Ms. Mayes explained everything to me, and she believed that I would make a great participant for this contest.”
Howe’s piece features major landmarks within the Four Corners region, sacred and culturally significant wildlife within our area, three hands representing diversity, and the four sacred colors meeting in the center of the piece along with a medicine wheel design. The art speaks to the mission of this conference, which is focused on collaboration, commitment, and relationship building between the Department of Justice, Offices of the United States Attorney, and Tribal communities.
Starting in 1992, the Four Corners Indian Country Conference focuses on prosecution, justice, and victims’ issues in Indian Country, specifically in the Four Corners states, where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah converge. The District of Colorado was proud to highlight additional efforts put in place this year to support the law enforcement on Tribal lands including the hiring of additional federal prosecutors, law enforcement trainings, and successful prosecutions which sought justice for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
During the conference, Howe’s artwork was displayed for all participants to see, it was even featured on the program cover. This conference also featured speakers and cultural presentations alongside Howe’s artwork to help attendees celebrate the rich culture of the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribes, both of which call the great state of Colorado home. Howe hopes to participate in the art submissions the next time this conference comes to Ignacio.