The Washington State Arts Commission has tapped Cheryl Wilcox to lead its new tribal cultural affairs program, which aims to develop and oversee statewide grants for Indigenous artists as well as arts and creative organizations.
Under Wilcox's leadership, the agency, also known as ArtsWA, will work directly with Washington's Native communities to co-develop cultural programming. Agency representatives claim the state-funded and -staffed effort is the first of its kind in the U.S. to support Native art, culture, traditions and preservation of ancestral knowledge. The state has allocated $1.7 million in program funding to cover grants, salaries and other operating costs over the next two years.
Wilcox, a Cowlitz Indian Tribe member, said she wants to grow outreach to and financial support for Native artists across the state through ArtsWA, which manages the state's art collection, provides grants to artists and supports arts education in schools. The outreach will help "validate" Indigenous artists, boost Native representation and bring renewed attention to their role as fixtures in the arts economy, she said.
"There's so many people that say they have Native-inspired art," Wilcox said. "It's taking away from the real Indigenous artists that are doing traditional art that's been passed down for generations. One of the things that is really important to me is that we acknowledge and value the history and traditions of the art that is being passed down."
As a Cowlitz elder, Wilcox carries on Indigenous traditions like beadwork, drum making and weaving with plant-based materials such as red cedar, sweet grass and beargrass.
"Tribal art is our history, and it is our culture, and we can't separate those," Wilcox said. "My role is to support [artists] in passing down that history to the next generation so that our history continues and our culture continues."
Before joining ArtsWA in October, Wilcox spent more than 14 years in state government. She has also previously worked as a tribal liaison for a national consulting firm and managed grants for the Washington State Health Care Authority, where she supported tribes in addressing the opioid crisis and accessing recovery tools.
Wilcox's strong professional, personal and social ties to Indigenous communities in the state made her a top pick for the role, said Karen Hanan, executive director of the Washington State Arts Commission.
"I was looking for somebody who had a deep connection with our tribal nations across the state," Hanan said. "But, also somebody who I knew was well versed in tribal culture and the significance of arts and culture within Indian Country."
The new position at ArtsWA fits into the group's larger mission to increase support for Indigenous artists and cultural organizations. According to ArtsWA's strategic plan for 2022-27, the agency plans to deepen relationships with tribal communities and expand tribal engagement through programs and diversity among vendors, contractors and artists.
Because Indigenous artists are underrepresented in the arts sector, Hanan said the agency aims to eliminate barriers and better serve Native people through the new program under Wilcox's leadership.
"We recognize the gap," Hanan said. "What we're looking at here is raising the profile of our tribal artists and tribal-focused organizations within the creative economy."
