John Pepion's guest appearances

John Pepion

The NextGen Native Podcast

NextGen Native

Jacqueline Wilson

Chris James

Justin Wilson

Adrienne Keene

Jim Gray

Aaron Yazzie

Sharice Davids

Gabe Galanda

Keith Harper

Michael Adams

Paulette Jordan

Brian Howard

Chelsea Wilson

Mike Black

Johnnie Jae

OwlTail

The first time John Isaiah Pepion (Piikani) appeared on NextGen Native, I titled the accompanying blog post “Up and Coming Ledger Artist.” About 1.5 years later John returned to catch up, and from our conversation, the title was accurate! John’s on the move, and if you're not familiar with his work, you should check it out. We discussed how he has grown as an artist and businessperson recently. He mentioned he started growing even more when he opened himself up to learn and take feedback from others. This mindset can be applied to any job or activity. It can be hard to open yourself up to feedback, but it empowers you in a way that few other things can. As John opened himself up to feedback, he started engaging more and more with communities. His Instagram page shows tons of photos with him at schools. He also mentioned he spends time with elder groups. And through this service, he gains new insight and perspective on his art that he can use to grow, even while giving back to others. Besides John’s amazing art, his grind is really what is paying off for him. He travels everywhere, he’s been taking on cultural learnings at home, learning how to make his business more sustainable. And he still finds time everyday to draw. When you see someone growing their influence, and quality of their work, there’s probably a healthy dose of hard work that you don’t see, but it’s there.  John’s trajectory looks awesome, his hardwork is paying off. He’s done collaborations with other amazing artists, etc. in Indian Country. It’s fun to see NextGen Natives grow. It’s fun to meet new people or connect with friends and colleagues and watch them transform, grow, overcome challenges and ultimately achieve success, with myself as a fortunate observer to their journey.

The first time John Isaiah Pepion (Piikani) appeared on NextGen Native, I titled the accompanying blog post “<a href="http://nextgennative.com/john-pepion-up-and-coming-ledger-artist/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Up and Coming Ledger Artist</a>.” About 1.5 years later John returned to catch up, and from our conversation, the title was accurate! John’s on the move, and if you're not familiar with his work, you should check it out. We discussed how he has grown as an artist and businessperson recently. He mentioned he started growing even more when he opened himself up to learn and take feedback from others. This mindset can be applied to any job or activity. It can be hard to open yourself up to feedback, but it empowers you in a way that few other things can. As John opened himself up to feedback, he started engaging more and more with communities. His Instagram page shows tons of photos with him at schools. He also mentioned he spends time with elder groups. And through this service, he gains new insight and perspective on his art that he can use to grow, even while giving back to others. Besides John’s amazing art, his grind is really what is paying off for him. He travels everywhere, he’s been taking on cultural learnings at home, learning how to make his business more sustainable. And he still finds time everyday to draw. When you see someone growing their influence, and quality of their work, there’s probably a healthy dose of hard work that you don’t see, but it’s there. John’s trajectory looks awesome, his hardwork is paying off. He’s done collaborations with other amazing artists, etc. in Indian Country. It’s fun to see NextGen Natives grow. It’s fun to meet new people or connect with friends and colleagues and watch them transform, grow, overcome challenges and ultimately achieve success, with myself as a fortunate observer to their journey.

John Pepion on Open Minds and Never Ending Grind

Ledger

One of the tensions NextGen Natives experience, I believe, is whether your work faces outward to the broader world or inward towards Indian Country. By focusing on efforts that face outward, your goal is to broaden the exposure of Indian Country to others, to educate, to transcend. Efforts inward may focus on addressing an issue, or empowering, etc. but perhaps with little support or focus from outside Indian Country. John Pepion is currently straddling both, and may be on the cusp of getting BIG. John Pepion is a member of the Blackfeet Nation. He grew up in Birch Creek on the reservation. John is a young ledger artist. His work is captivating and incorporates both traditional scenes one expects from ledger art, and contemporary scenes captured in a familiar medium. I came across John Pepion after someone retweeted a blog post written about John’s work. This wasn’t just any blog, it was Instragram’s blog. As a fan of ledger art I dove into his Instragram account. I reached out to him to be on the podcast. He agreed and we had a great conversation. John Pepion’s story touches on many familiar themes from the podcast. He got into trouble as a teenager. His mom send him around to live with other family to stay out of trouble. Looking back on it, he realized he had and maintains to this day a strong support network. John floated around after earning his GED. He attended United Tribes Technical College and focused on art, but did not take it seriously. Later he applied to the Institute for American Indian Art after some encouragement. Though he was accepted, he did not attend at first. Eventually he did, and it was his last year in school when he started to dabble in ledger art. But it wasn’t until 2009, after a car accident, that he really found his passion for his art. It became his way of avoiding depression while recovering from his injuries. After that, it seemed all he did was diver deeper into his work. Even then he did not like to call himself an artist. He began selling pieces at home for $5 while in college, but eventually found he could make his living off his art, even if it took long hours and a lot of hustle. But his work is more than just his business. He volunteers at schools with kids and at recovery centers. He shows people how to use art for their own personal benefit.  John’s story shows that even if you don’t know what you want to do, find yourself in some trouble you can still find the right path for you. It is never too late to focus. And in John’s case, his passion also kept him from sliding back into trouble.  It’s awesome to see a Native artist getting attention from Indian Country and beyond. I expect he will continue to put out amazing art that can be appreciated by anyone.

One of the tensions NextGen Natives experience, I believe, is whether your work faces outward to the broader world or inward towards Indian Country. By focusing on efforts that face outward, your goal is to broaden the exposure of Indian Country to others, to educate, to transcend. Efforts inward may focus on addressing an issue, or empowering, etc. but perhaps with little support or focus from outside Indian Country. <a href="http://www.johnisaiahpepion.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John Pepion</a> is currently straddling both, and may be on the cusp of getting BIG. John Pepion is a member of the Blackfeet Nation. He grew up in Birch Creek on the reservation. John is a young ledger artist. His work is captivating and incorporates both traditional scenes one expects from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledger_art" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ledger art</a>, and contemporary scenes captured in a familiar medium. I came across John Pepion after someone retweeted a blog post written about John’s work. This wasn’t just any blog, it was <a href="http://blog.instagram.com/post/129849236107/150925-johnisaiahpepion" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instragram’s blog</a>. As a fan of ledger art I dove into his I<a href="https://instagram.com/johnisaiahpepion/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nstragram account</a>. I reached out to him to be on the podcast. He agreed and we had a great conversation. John Pepion’s story touches on many familiar themes from the podcast. He got into trouble as a teenager. His mom send him around to live with other family to stay out of trouble. Looking back on it, he realized he had and maintains to this day a strong <a href="http://nextgennative.com/leadership-lessons-from-beast-mode/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">support network</a>. John floated around after earning his GED. He attended <a href="http://www.uttc.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">United Tribes Technical College</a> and focused on art, but did not take it seriously. Later he applied to the <a href="http://www.iaia.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Institute for American Indian Art</a> after some encouragement. Though he was accepted, he did not attend at first. Eventually he did, and it was his last year in school when he started to dabble in ledger art. But it wasn’t until 2009, after a car accident, that he really found his passion for his art. It became his way of avoiding depression while recovering from his injuries. After that, it seemed all he did was diver deeper into his work. Even then he did not like to call himself an artist. He began selling pieces at home for $5 while in college, but eventually found he could make his living off his art, even if it took long hours and a lot of hustle. But his work is more than just his business. He volunteers at schools with kids and at recovery centers. He shows people how to use art for their own personal benefit. John’s story shows that even if you don’t know what you want to do, find yourself in some trouble you can still find the right path for you. It is never too late to focus. And in John’s case, his passion also kept him from sliding back into trouble. It’s awesome to see a Native artist getting attention from Indian Country and beyond. I expect he will continue to put out amazing art that can be appreciated by anyone.

John Pepion | Up and Coming Ledger Artist