2009 Native American Student Artist Competition

Entries for the 2009 Native American Student Artist Competition (SAC) are continuing to arrive! We at the Office of Indian Education want to remind everyone that students must register their entries, and artwork and essays must be postmarked by Friday, January 16, 2009. We have also provided a few tips for artists and writers entering the competition.

Don’t Forget to Register!
Students can register their entry online or call our toll-free number 1-866-259-0060. If you register online you will receive an Application and Release form in your registration confirmation. If you register over the phone, we will send you an Application and Release form. Important! We must receive your artwork with your signed Application and Release form. Complete SAC Instructions

Art Tips


Working with oil-based paints: when painting with oil-based paints, you always want to start with the background and work your way forward. To get your foreground colors to pop, apply wet paint only to previous layers of wet paint.
Working with watercolor paints: to prevent your colors from bleeding into each other and making your painting look messy, use a hair dryer to dry each color.

For more art tips, visit the Artist Circle on the OIE kids website.

Writing Tips

Don't expect a perfect essay when you start out. A great essay takes many drafts to write, not just one or two - more like 10 to 12.
Keep all of your drafts, doodles, ideas, brainstorms, or anything that helped you with your writing in one place. A folder or notebook works great.
Plan on writing in chunks of time from 15 minutes to 1 hour per day.
Give yourself time to think about what you want to say. Digest what you have written and come back to it the next day. Re-read what you wrote and decide whether revisions are warranted.
For more writing tips, check out the Artist Circle on the OIE kids website.

Questions about the SAC? Contact Rayanne Ganuelas at rganuelas@kauffmaninc.com or 1-866-259-0060.