Teenage Mohawk artist wins national contest

HOGANSBURG — A 14-year-old Mohawk girl soon will have her artwork on display in the Smithsonian Institution and other museums and galleries in a yearlong traveling exhibition.

Katsitsiaroroks Mitchell, who will be entering Massena High School in September, won first place in the sixth- to eighth-grade category of the Native American Student Artist Competition this year. She is the first St. Regis Mohawk Reservation resident to win first place. The national contest is sponsored by the federal Office of Indian Education.

"She is exceedingly quiet. What I love about her is she is an independent creative thinker," said art teacher Robin L. LaCourse. "All of her work is very uniquely hers."

Miss Mitchell's piece, done in colored pencil, features the moon's phases, the earth and people drawn according to Mohawk tradition. The theme for this year's contest was "Circle of Empowerment: Education, Language, Culture, Tradition."

The piece began as a mandala project — a circular design reflecting the holistic connection between the earth and a person. It was the only submission from the junior high school this year. Mrs. LaCourse encouraged Miss Mitchell to develop it further and submit it to the contest. Miss Mitchell was hesitant at first because the pieces become the property of the U.S. Department of Education. She agreed only when she discovered she could win art supplies, Mrs. LaCourse said.

A panel of judges in Washington, D.C., selected Miss Mitchell's submission from among 210 entrants. In addition to the art supplies, her prize included an engraved portfolio, a plaque and a certificate.

"She's very much a beautiful example of what a Native American person with a force inside her can do," Mrs. LaCourse said.