Frank Raymond LaPena, also known as Frank LaPeña and by his Wintu name Tauhindauli (1937 – 2019), was a Nomtipom-

Wintu The Wintu (also Northern Wintun) are Native Americans who live in what is now Northern California. They are part of a loose association of peoples known collectively as the Wintun (or Wintuan). Others are the Nomlaki and the Patwin. The Wintu ...

American Indian painter, printmaker,

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

, ceremonial dancer, poet, and writer. He taught at

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

, between 1975 and 2002. LaPena helped defined a generation of Native artists in a revival movement to share their experiences, traditions, culture, and ancestry.

Early life and education

Frank Raymond LaPena was born on October 5, 1937, in San Francisco, California, to parents Evelyn Gladys (née Towndolly) and Henry LaPena. His family was of the Nomtipom-Wintu tribe, and from an early age he started learning about traditions from his elders and neighboring tribes including the Nomlaki Wintun. When he was a child he was sent to attend federal boarding school at

Chemawa Indian School Chemawa Indian School is a Native American boarding school in Salem, Oregon, United States. Named after the Chemawa band of the Kalapuya people of the Willamette Valley, it opened on February 25, 1880 as an elementary school. Grades were adde ...

, and later Stewart Indian School. He graduated from Yreka High School in 1956. He received a

BA degree Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1965 from

California State University, Chico California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university h ...

, and his

MA degree A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1978 in anthropology from California State University, Sacramento.

Teaching career and ethnography

LaPena started teaching at

Shasta College Shasta College is a public community college in Redding, California, with branch campuses in Burney, Weaverville, and Red Bluff. It was founded in 1950 and later moved to a much larger campus while the original campus became the new locati ...

, from 1969 to 1971. LaPena taught at California State University, Sacramento within the art department and ethnic studies department, and serving as the director of the Native American studies department, between 1975 and 2002. He lectured on traditional and cultural Native American issues, which included the California traditions. In 1970, he was part of the ''

Maidu The Maidu are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather River, Feather and American River, American ...

Dancers and Traditionalists'' group, as a founding member, ceremonial dancer and instructor. He had notable students, including

Harry Fonseca Harry Eugene Fonseca (1946 – 2006) was a Nisenan Native Americans in the United States, Native American artist, and illustrator. He was an enrolled citizen of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. Education Harry Eugene Fonseca was bor ...

. LaPena's contributions about the Wintu were included in the seminal book, ''

Handbook of North American Indians The ''Handbook of North American Indians'' is a series of edited scholarly and reference volumes in Native American studies, published by the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 1978. Planning for the handbook series began in the late 1960s and ...

Volume 8: California'' (1978). He was frequent contributor to the journal, ''News from Native California'', between the late-1980s until the 2000s.

Art career and poetry

LaPena starting exhibiting his artwork in 1960 in a gallery in Chico. His artwork was shown nationally, as well as in Europe, Central and South America, Cuba, Australia and New Zealand. He created work in various mediums including in painting, printmaking, silversmithing, photography, woodworking, and others. LePena was part of the seminal art exhibition curated by artist Carlos Villa, ''Other Sources: An American Essay'' (1976), which was an alternative celebration of the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

, and focused on people of color and women. It showcased many San Francisco Bay Area artists including

Ruth Asawa Ruth Aiko Asawa (January 24, 1926 – August 5, 2013) was an American modernist sculptor. Her work is featured in collections at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.< ...

Bernice Bing Bernice Bing (10 April 1936 – 18 August 1998) was a Chinese American lesbian artist involved in the San Francisco Bay Area art scene in the 1960s. She was known for her interest in the Beats and Zen Buddhism, and for the "calligraphy-inspir ...

, Rolando Castellón, Claude Clark,

Robert Colescott Robert H. Colescott (August 26, 1925 – June 4, 2009) was an American painter. He is known for satirical genre and crowd subjects, often conveying his exuberant, comical, or bitter reflections on being African American. He studied with Fernand L ...

, Frank Day, Rupert García, Mike Henderson, Oliver Jackson, Linda Lomahaftewa, George Longfish, Ralph Maradiaga, José Montoya,

Manuel Neri Manuel John Neri Jr. (April 12, 1930October 18, 2021) was an American sculptor who is recognized for his life-size figurative sculptures in plaster, bronze, and marble. In Neri's work with the figure, he conveys an emotional inner state that is re ...

, Mary Lovelace O'Neal, Darryl Sapien, Raymond Saunders, James Hiroshi Suzuki, Horace Washington,

Al Wong Al Wong (born 1939) is an American artist and educator, known for his experimental film and mixed media installation art. He is based in San Francisco, California. Biography Al Wong was born in 1939 in San Francisco, California to father Willie ...

, René Yañez, and Leo Valledor. LaPena served as a co-curator of the traveling exhibition, ''The Extension of Tradition: Contemporary Northern California Native American Art in Cultural Perspective'' (1985–1986) at

Crocker Art Museum The Crocker Art Museum is the oldest art museum in the Western United States, located in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1885, the museum holds one of the premier collections of Californian art. The collection includes American works dating f ...

and

Palm Springs Art Museum The Palm Springs Art Museum (formerly the Palm Springs Desert Museum) was founded in 1938, and is a regional art, natural science and performing arts institution for Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, in Riverside County, California, United St ...

. In 1999, at the 48th Venice Biennale, the exhibit “Rendezvoused" sponsored by the Native American Arts Alliance, curated by Nancy Mithlo (Chiricahua Apache) and featured artist Frank LaPena, alongside Harry Fonseca, Bob Haozous, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Kay WalkingStick, Richard Ray Whitman, and poet

Simon Ortiz Simon J. Ortiz (born May 27, 1941) is a Native American writer, poet, and enrolled member of the Pueblo of Acoma. Ortiz is one of the key figures in the second wave of what has been called the Native American Renaissance. Ortiz's commitment t ...

. Additionally, LaPena published several volumes of poetry.

Death and legacy

LaPena died on May 2, 2019, at the age of 81. LaPena had been married to Catherine Alice Sell Skinner, from August 19, 1966, to April 12, 1984, and ending in divorce. Together they had two children, and LaPena had five step-children. His artwork is included in public museum collections, including at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

(MoMA), the

Cantor Arts Center The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, formerly the Stanford University Museum of Art, and commonly known as the Cantor Arts Center, is an art museum on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. ...

, the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

C.N. Gorman Museum C.N. Gorman Museum is a museum focused on Native American and Indigenous artists, founded in 1973 at University of California, Davis (UC Davis) in Davis, California. History The C.N. Gorman Museum was founded in 1973 by the Department of Nativ ...

, and others. He was featured in two documentary films, ''Frank LaPeña: Wintu Artist and Traditionalist'' (1988) and ''The Heard Museum Presents Frank LaPeña, Artist and Lecturer'' (1993).

Publications

Exhibition catalogues

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As author

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As editor

References

External links

Guide to the Frank R. LaPena papers, 1930s-2013
Online Archive of California (OAC) {{DEFAULTSORT:LaPena, Frank 1937 births 2019 deaths Native American activists Native American artists Artists from San Francisco Artists from Sacramento, California California State University, Chico alumni California State University, Sacramento alumni California State University, Sacramento faculty Native American dancers Historians of Native Americans Native American poets American curators Native American male artists