The U.S. Department of Education Office of Indian Education (OIE) last week announced the 2007 winners of the annual Native American Student Art Competition. Today, Assistant Secretary of Education Kerri Briggs and Deputy Director of the Office of Indian Education (OIE) Cathie Carothers opened the exhibit, Education: A Gift Without Boundaries. Winning entries may be seen beginning August 8, at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. as part of the agency's Headquarters Art Exhibit Program. In September, the exhibit will travel to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

"This competition exemplifies the value of culture, the arts, and academic achievement to Native youth," said Assistant Secretary Briggs. "Congratulations go to the winners as well as the numerous other students whose submissions made this year's judging exciting and challenging."

The theme for the 2007 competition, which received 1,379 entries from 34 states and 175 tribes, was Education, A Gift Without Boundaries. Entries were judged by staff members from OIE and NMAI based on originality, relationship to the contest theme, creativity, composition, and control of materials.

"The Office of Indian Education would like to thank all of the students for their hard work," Deputy Director Carothers said. "We especially want to thank their parents and teachers for providing the support and encouragement needed for these students to enter the competition. That encouragement has resulted in art pieces that are a unique and imaginative demonstration of combining Native culture and each student's values for academic achievement with their achievement in the arts."

In 2007 and 2008 the art exhibit will travel to the Chicago Children's Museum, the Trickster Gallery in Schaumburg, IL; the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City, OK; the Ancient Traders' Gallery in Minneapolis, MN; the Indian Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM as well as other locations.

A list of winners and images of the student artwork can be found online at www.indianeducation.org/sac/gallery.

The winners of the 2007 Student Art Competition are:

Pre-Kindergarten

• 1st Place: This is me when I grow up by Patrick Ngambi (Rosebud Sioux), Pre K at Liberty Elementary, Omaha, NE
• 2nd Place: Education Gives Our Brain Wings by David McPherson (Choctaw), Pre K at Kennedy Elementary, Norman, OK

Grades K-2

• 1st Place: Untitled by Jahne Thomas (Gila River), 2nd grade at Casa Blanca Community School, Bapchule, AZ
• 2nd Place: Happy Dreams of School by Kirsten Wells (Omaha), in 1st grade at Liberty Elementary, Omaha, NE
• 3rd Place: The Sky is the Limit...with Education by Gavin Spotted Tail Swalley (Rosebud Sioux), 2nd grade at Lakeview School, Crookston, SD
• Honorable Mention: The Gift of School Colors My Life by Chaulette DeCora (Omaha), Kindergarten at Liberty Elementary, Omaha, NE

Grades 3-5

• 1st Place: Untitled by Inteus Bitahy (Diné), 4th grade at Tailor Intermediate School, Snowflake, AZ
• 2nd Place: Wild Imagination by Kanowan Kayotawape (Menominee), 3rd grade at CPS Gray Elementary, Chicago, IL
• 3rd Place: A Gift of Education by Paige FourKiller (Cherokee), 5th grade at Maryette School, Stillwell, OK

Grades 6-8

• 1st Place: Untitled by Deidra Lee (Diné), 8th grade at Tse Bit Ai Middle School, Shiprock, NM
• 2nd Place: Anything is Possible by Kaila Shakespeare (Shoshone), 8th grade at Starrett Junior High, Lander, WY
• 3rd Place: Thoughts Have No Boundaries by Charlene Murphy (13th Regional Corporation AK), 7th grade at Cedar Heights Middle School, Covington, WA

Grades 9-10

• 1st Place: Student by Dalton Fazekas (Choctaw), 10th grade at Red Oak High School, Red Oak, OK
• 2nd Place: Dream to Reality by Otis J. Rustin (Apache/Jemez), 10th grade at Globe High School, Globe, AZ
• 3rd Place: Untitled by Robert Francis (Acoma), 10th grade at Grants High School, Grants, NM

Grades 11-12

• 1st Place: Untitled by Michael Curley (Zuni), 10th grade at Pine Hill School, Zuni, NM
• 2nd Place: Pathway to Endless Possibilities by Denise Lopez (Nez Perce), 12th grade at Lapwai Sr. High School, Lapwai, ID
• 3rd Place: Education: A Gift Without Boundaries by Keena Numkena (White Mountain Apache/Hopi), 12th grade at Blue Ridge High School, Lakeside, AZ
• Honorable Mention: Untitled by Keith Jones (Potawatomi), 11th grade at Kickapoo Nation School, Powhattan, KS
• Honorable Mention: Navajo Nation by Lorraine Peters (Diné), 11th grade at Noli Indian School, San Jacinto, CA

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