Steph Littlebird
Native American artist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steph Littlebird is a Native American multimedia artist, illustrator, and exhibit curator who is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.[1][2][3] She is known for her curation of the exhibit, "This is Kalapuyan Land".[4]
- United States
- Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Steph Littlebird | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1984 or 1985 (age 40–41) Banks, Oregon, U.S. |
| Citizenship |
|
| Alma mater | Pacific Northwest College of Art (BFA) |
| Website | www |
Early life and education
Littlebird was born in 1984 or 1985[5] and grew up in Banks, Oregon.[4] She is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde.[6]
She graduated from Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2015 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking.[7]
Graphic design and illustration
Littlebird re-designed the Yahoo logo for 2022 Native American Heritage Month using Native American-inspired patterns.[8][9] The final "O" was used as Yahoo's avatar on its social media platforms for the month of November.[9]
My Powerful Hair was published in March 2023 through Abrams Books for Young Readers.[2] The children's book was written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Littlebird.[10]
Littlebird created a portrait of Shimkhin displayed as part of the exhibit My Father's Father's Sister: Our Ancestor Shimkhin, which opened at Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center in 2023.[6]
Littlebird has artwork displayed in the exterior window niches of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art as well as other locations around the University of Oregon.[11]
Fierce Aunties, a children's book written by Laurel Goodluck and illustrated by Littlebird, was published in April 2025.[12] The Summer of the Bones Horses was also published April 2025, through Abrams Books for Young Readers. It is a chapter book written by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve and illustrated by Littlebird.[13]
You are the Land, written and illustrated by Littlebird, was released in 2026.[14]
Curatorial career
Littlebird first curated This Is Kalapuyan Land at the Five Oaks Museum (formerly Washington County Museum) in 2019. The exhibit incorporated materials from a 2008 Five Oaks Museum exhibit titled This Kalapuya Land, which were then visibly annotated and edited by LIttlebird with help from Grand Ronde historian David G. Lewis.[15][16] These panels were displayed alongside works by contemporary Indigenous artists.[17] A modified version of the exhibit opened at the Pittock Mansion in 2023.[16]
Littlebird curated the exhibition Ancestors, hosted by the Portland Parks & Recreation at the Multnomah Arts Center in 2024.[18]
Littlebird curated the Salem Art Association Exhibition Indigenous Northwest, on view at the Bush Barn Art Center from September 6 to October 27, 2024.[1]
Awards and fellowships
- 2020 AICAD-NOAA National Fellowship recipient[19]
- '20 Caldera Artist in Residence[19]
- 2019 Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) project grant awardee[19]
- 2025 Oregon Community Foundation's Creative Heights grant[20]