The portfolio "Stories of the Living Land" was the outcome of a collaborative project between three art institutions known for their creation of fine art prints.

Nepean Arts & Design Center at the Western Sydney Institute (WSI) in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts (CSIA) on the Umatilla Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon

In January 2002, Jo Ernsten, an instructor at the WSI was teaching the art printmaking to twelve Aboriginal artists. The artists wished to participate in a print exchange with a Native American group of artists. Ernsten contacted Frank Janzen, Tamarind Master Printer at CSIA and Deborah Jojola, printmaking instructor at IAIA. All three institutions decided to produce prints for a collaborative three-way print exchange that would include a total of 37 artists.

Janzen of CSIA contacted Kimberly Minthorn Allen, the Native American Education Coordinator for the Weston-Athena school district in northeastern Oregon. Allen located 12 young Native American artists who were eager to take part in the project. Under the supervision of Janzen at CSIA, the12 young artists worked after school hours and on weekends to print their own complete editions. Jojola of the IAIA then coordinated with CSIA and WSI to mount the 37-piece exhibition at the Institute of the American Indian Art in Santa Fe.

The portfolio "Stories of the Living Land" is making its Art Museum debut while on exhibit in the Uno E. Richter Atrium Gallery at Coos Art Museum.