Nespelem was, and still is, the heart of the Indian reservation known as the Colville Confederated Tribes. Established in 1872, the reservation is home to 12 separate and distinct tribes, which includes Nez Perces, Yakimas, Palouses and San Poils. It was also the home to such legendary individuals as Chief Joseph, Cleveland Kamiakin and Chief Awhi, who were all forced to relocate there after the internment period that followed the Nez Perce War. Nespelem is located about 14 miles north of the massive Grand Coulee Dam in central Washington state. In fact, the dam was still under construction when the art colony had begun its work. It was a lively time to say the least.

Ann painted for at least two summers at Nespelem, living on the reservation for six weeks at a time. The painting was done in the old Nespelem high school gym (long since gone), with individual Indians posing for up to eight hours at a time in front of twenty to thirty students. The Indians were paid anywhere from two to five dollars per day. The instructors for the first few years consisted of Worth Griffin, head of the Fine Arts Department at WSU, and Clifford Still, who functioned for a time under Griffin until his own artistic achievements catapulted him to bigger and better things. Still became a nationally known abstract artist whose collection is archived in New York.

The individuals who were painted at Nespelem were considered elders, or at least individuals who hailed from famous lineages. The two portraits displayed here are of Willie Andrews (Red Star), a nephew to Chief Joseph and Bertha Awhi, granddaughter of Chief Awhi who resides in Omak, Wa., some 32 mile north of Nespelem. In a recent interview Bertha told me that she served as an interpreter for the painters when not sitting to be painted herself. She remembers fondly the friendships that were established with some of the students and says that she remembers Anne as if it were yesterday.

Though the record isn't exactly clear, it seems that the colony came to an end in 1941. Out of the inaugural class of 1937, only two members exist. Anne Harder Wyatt is one of them, Ruth Kelsey is the other. Kelsey at 92 still remembers vividly the two years she spent at the colony and still trys to keep in touch Anne, who at 89 considers her time at Nespelem on of the most rewarding periods of her life.