MNN Extended Interview with Willard Malebear, Jr.

Transcript

[Music: Minnesota Native News Theme]

Marie Rock [ANCHOR]: You're listening to Minnesota Native News. I'm Marie Rock. This week, an extended conversation from producer Deanna StandingCloud with tattoo shop owner and father Willard Malebear, Jr.

Willard Malebear: So, I'm Willard Malebear, Jr. I'm enrolled in Standing Rock Hunkpapa Lakota, owner of Iktomi Tattoo and the executive chairman of Art Shelf and owner of Unified Theory Collective, artist, painter, Illustrator, graphic designer, little bit of all of that. And I have seven years of sobriety, and I've been released from incarceration for five years now.

Deanna StandingCloud: That's awesome. It's awesome to go through those experiences and like, come out and just be this successful, and be creative and like, bring all this stuff into the world, because it's not always easy. How long have you been here, and what was the idea behind being in Minneapolis?

Willard Malebear: I think we have a great energy. I'd like to think of everyone that tattoos there or gets tattoos there as an extension of family. [I] Definitely feel aligned with all the artists that we have in there. Our clientele is Indigenous progressives from the community, people of all nations. A lot of us are network connections within the community. And I'm blessed that we have a group of artists that have beautiful minds that enjoy what they make and the people that they tattoo. We get to tattoo together, and we all support each other. We spend at least six out of seven days around each other, and we see each other grow. We constantly push each other's boundaries and buttons, and it's just part of having a group of friends that get to share space with every day.

Deanna StandingCloud: Yeah, that's awesome to know the work environment and the work culture.

Willard Malebear: The shop's named after, like, my dad and like, sort of like my dad's spirit, because my dad was a jokester. You know Iktomi the…the trickster, the spider spirit? He loved playing tricks and clowning around and having fun. I feel like that definitely is kind of carried through to me. And I feel like, you know, in the shop, we're always joking. Joke with each other from across the tattoo shop as people are getting tattooed, and be like, "Oh man, hopefully you don't mess up this tattoo like she did the last one." Yeah. Yeah. I love, I love having fun like that. It's hilarious to me that someone like me gets an opportunity to own a business, and especially in this setting, because all we do is like, have fun. "Wow. This is cool. This is what we get to do for a living!"

Deanna StandingCloud: Do you want to share a little bit about your dad or, like, your journey of recovery and things like that?

Willard Malebear: I moved out here to Minneapolis 19 years ago to escape drugs and crime and some trouble that I got into in Idaho as a 20-year-old. I had nowhere else to go and, you know, my dad took a lot of pride in me. When I moved out here, I wasn't in good shape. Moved in with my dad, and, you know, it was like, within a week or two, he invited me to go to the bar with him, you know, just kind of like, back off to the races for me. And I got into skateboarding, and skateboarding was just a party. Again I got into a bunch of trouble and drugs. During all that, though, I was still an artist. I was a tattooer. I was a skateboarder. I wasn't planning on ever tattooing again. When I got out of prison, I was kind of over the lifestyle. And tattooing – as I knew it – was drug, renegade lifestyle. So, I was like, I'm never tattooing again. And I ended up finding an opportunity to get back into the tattoo industry through my friend who was opening up a shop, and he basically was like, "Hey, I would love to have your help." So, I started tattooing at his shop, and after about a year of doing that, one of my friends that owns a treatment center and her husband said that they would help me open up my own shop, because they wanted to, kind of, like elevate me into professionalism. And essentially, the universe kind of blessed me with situations that allowed that to happen. I know that no matter what, I'm showing up as best as I can, in the best ways as I can, and I'm just hoping to be a good relative and be a catalyst for something good.

Deanna StandingCloud: I'm super happy for you. Congratulations on everything.

Marie Rock [ANCHOR]: That's all for this week's episode Minnesota Native News. I'm Marie Rock.

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Marie Rock [ANCHOR]: Minnesota Native News is produced by AMPERS: Diverse Radio for Minnesota's Communities. Made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.