Alumnus and 2023 Bush Fellow Joe Williams Leads With Intentionality
As a recent recipient of a 2023 Bush Fellowship, Williams can continue to lead with intention, inspire connection and conversation, and build understanding of Native American artists.
Williams, who earned his bachelor’s degree in Native American studies from USD in 2007, was one of 24 individuals to be selected for a 2023 Bush Fellowship. An investment in leaders from diverse backgrounds, communities and sectors, the Bush Fellowship seeks to empower individuals whose bold visions are shaping communities around the region.
“I’m just one of those folks who likes to sit in the background and try to help out as I can, so to be chosen as a Bush Fellow, there was a level of shock,” said Williams. “Just seeing all the incredible people that were chosen, I feel honored to be considered a part of that group.”
As a Bush Fellow, Williams, an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribe, has access to a flexible grant of $100,000 to put toward furthering his education and engaging in leadership training and professional development. Williams plans to use his grant to enroll in a master’s program in Indigenous Law at Oklahoma University.
“I’m a Native American, and we have a special relationship with the U.S. Government in a legal sense. In a lot of what we do – in education, in the arts and in other aspects – we have certain laws that we have to abide by,” said Williams. “Oftentimes, I find myself doing research to make sure the work I’m engaging in is in compliance with existing laws, and I came to the conclusion that I need a formal education in law.”
Williams said he hopes expanding his knowledge in law will allow him to better engage in meaningful conversations and bring more to the table.
“This law education will provide me a solid foundation so as I move forward on things, I can have a better understanding,” Williams added. “As I engage with community members, I can sit at the table and keep up with that conversation.”
In addition to continuing his education, Williams also plans to put the grant toward leadership courses to better serve community members.
“I want to expand how I can be a better facilitator and a better host to different community members as I engage in conversations with people across the political spectrum,” said Williams. “I’m seeing how I can improve myself and better lead these conversations.”
Currently, Williams serves as the director of Native American Programs at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota. He also hosts a podcast, 5 Plain Questions, that poses five general questions to Indigenous artists, creators, musicians, writers, movers and shakers, and culture bearers.
Of all the work he does, though, Williams said he is the most proud of his work with the Northern Plains Summer Art Institute. Held at the Plains Art Museum, the institute is a two-week intensive art program for Native American high school and college students seeking an art education that mixes fundamentals in art and a connection to their cultural identity.
“I couldn’t be more proud that this program means so much to these students,” said Williams. “It’s having a direct effect on their lives, just like the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute had for me when I was a kid at USD. We’re showing students a higher standard of professionalism that's not just one they can go for – it's one that they can achieve.”
Williams was first introduced to the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute (OHSAI) when he was in high school. At the time, Williams said this was the only form of art education he had, and the institute was a place where he felt accepted. This positive experience inspired him to attend USD for his undergraduate degree.
"The Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute is a unique program in that it educates Native American art students from the perspective of a Native American," said Williams. "It employees Native American instructors and counselors that are able to connect with the students in a way that only Oscar Howe could have. And while the program is several generations on from the direct teachings of Oscar Howe, the lessons he initially provided have worked their way from generation to generation."
Since his original experience with the institute, Williams has continued to be involved with the OHSAI in several capacities. He first served as a counselor in the summer of 1997 and transitioned into the role of drawing instructor in 2000. Between then and 2020, when he returned as a speaker, Williams recalls 14 years of involvement with the OHSAI. For the previous three years, Williams has resumed his role as a drawing instructor for the summer institute.
"Robert Penn, Howe’s protégé, shared many of the same lessons he directly received from Howe onto me, both in the Fine Arts building and out at his farmhouse, that I now pass on directly to the students," Williams said. "In a sense, it’s an extension of the oral history that has been a practice of Native Americans for a millennia."
When reflecting on his time at the state’s flagship university and the impact it has on his leadership style, there’s one person that comes to the top of Williams’s mind: Dean Emeritus John A. Day.
“John Day modeled what the selfless leader is,” said Williams. “He gave us so much of his own personal time to make sure that we were prepared for life after school, and he genuinely cared. John Day was also the caretaker of the Oscar Howe collection and was the person that carried on Oscar Howe’s legacy after he passed.
“John Day passed on Oscar Howe’s message of being intentional in what we do and how we project,” Williams added. “It just really modeled to me that we always have to be the best that we can be, hold ourselves to the highest standards and have intention in what we do.”
This message of intentionality and purpose has guided Williams through his life journey and has inspired him to do what he does today. Possibly an even stronger force is Williams’s mission to lay the groundwork for those who follow in his footsteps.
“As I grew up, I realized that if you’re not doing the work, there are very few people who will,” said Williams. “I want to make sure that those younger ones behind me have a stronger path ahead. That’s a big reason why I do the podcast; to show Native American youth that there are people doing what they want to do.”
Williams said that if he could give one piece of advice to Native American students, it would be to create the world to be what they want it to be.
“I wasn’t a great student, and I wasn’t quite sure what my future was going to look like, but I’ve created space for myself,” said Williams. “The job that I have was sort of created from my imagination. I promote artists, I curate art shows, I develop workshops for youth, I host a podcast, and on top of that, I’m still a storyboard artist at nighttime.
“I’m intentional about addressing Native students because we don’t have a lot of examples that have been shown to us, and I think we carry this insecurity that we’re not good enough,” Williams added. “But I just want them to really understand that the world is theirs.”
