"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Cherokee Citizen Wins National Art Competition

"Contest winner Paige Fourkiller and Michelle Scribner, Arbor Day
Poster Contest Program Coordinator."

STILWELL, OK - Paige Fourkiller, a Cherokee citizen and sixth-grader at Maryetta Elementary School, will soon have her artwork displayed on a national poster.

“I won the Arbor Day Poster Contest,” said Fourkiller. “It was really fun because I got to draw trees and animals.”

According to Michelle Scribner, Arbor Day Program Director, the poster contest originated in 1992 as a means to provide supplementary activities to educational leaders to teach children about trees. Scribner was excited to name a Maryetta student as a national winner because of the school’s success in past competitions.

“The 16th annual contest of The National Arbor Day Foundation provides children across the United States with an understanding of Arbor Day and the important benefits of trees, while inspiring them to learn about the value of our forests as ecosystems,” said Scribner. “Paige did a great job on the art this year. She won a $500 savings bond, a framed copy of her artwork and a tree will be planted on the grounds of the school in her honor.”

The Arbor Day Poster Contest is an artistic competition open to fifth-graders across the nation striving to increase awareness of the important role trees play in the quality of life and environmental health of cities and towns. Over 75,000 classrooms participated in this past year’s competition. The theme was “Trees are Terrific…and forests are too!”

Maryetta Elementary School and its art teacher, Mrs. Smith, use Cherokee Nation’s Johnson O’Malley (JOM) Program funds to help support the school’s art program. Each year, the students actively participate in several art contests. Many of the students excel on the local, state and national level every year. Fourkiller also placed third in a national student art competition held by the Office of Indian Education.

The mission of the JOM Program is to address the unique cultural needs of American Indian students attending the Minneapolis Public Schools through a supplemental program of services planned, developed and approved by the local Indian Education Committee.

“I really appreciate the JOM funds,” said Smith. “We are fortunate to have a lot of wonderful artists at Maryetta. I use the funds to purchase art supplies and art books that the students can find inspiration in. We have a lot of Native American students and many of them enjoy drawing and painting subjects that significant to their culture and heritage. I do my best to encourage these endeavors and other areas of art that my students are interested in.”

“The Cherokee Nation is pleased to see JOM funds implemented in successful programs, such as the art program at Maryetta School,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “We are proud of Paige and recognize her accomplishments. I also commend Mrs. Smith to her dedication to these students and their talents.”

“Mrs. Smith really inspired me to keep drawing,” said Fourkiller. “She teaches me all I need to know and makes art fun. My favorite subject to draw is Sequoyah. Every time I have entered one of my drawings of him in a competition, I have won!”

“It was exciting to see someone from Maryetta win and finally get the opportunity to visit the school and Mrs. Smith, the art teacher,” said Scribner. “I encourage Mrs. Smith and her students to continue entering our annual competition and look forward to their continued success in the future.”