Kit Leffler

2016. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper. 26x40"

“Sweet Lou” Snider became a local legend as the pianist at Nye’s Polonaise Room, where she played for nearly 50 years. Nye’s opened its doors in 1950, but back in the days of the ox cart trail, the building had a very different life—it was once a saddle shop and, later in the 1880s, a bar called Hefron’s. Lou’s life wasn’t always as lively as the upbeat karaoke tunes she played night after night. When she was a young girl, tragedy struck: after learning his wife had cancer, her father shot all four of his children, including Lou, before taking his own life. Amazingly, Lou survived, though she had to use crutches for the rest of her life. She passed away at 81 on February 28, 2016—just about a month before Nye’s closed its doors for good. The building was purchased by a development company, Schafer Richardson. While the original Polonaise Room no longer exists, Schafer Richardson preserved the “Harness Shop” façade. The bar reopened in 2018 and is now owned by the Jacob Brothers.

2016. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper. 22x30"

Little Crow was a Dakota chief born in 1810 near what is now South St. Paul, Minnesota, during a time when European settlers were expanding into the region. He played an important role in treaty negotiations between the Dakota people and early Minnesota and American leaders, hoping to find a peaceful way for both groups to share the land. But when traders cheated his people, his tribe faced starvation, and Congress failed to make promised payments, conflict became inevitable. Little Crow was eventually shot and killed near Hutchinson, Minnesota. After his death his body was desecrated and tossed into a slaughterhouse pit.

This artwork shows Little Crow beside a fictional burial shrine. It features a traditional Dakota burial platform alongside modern Christian funeral wreaths, political signs, teddy bears, and flowers—items often seen at roadside memorials. Overhead, an ash tree stretches out, symbolizing environmental and physical doom.

2016. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper. 22x30"

Norman Kittson was a fur trader, steamboat operator, and railway entrepreneur who made St. Paul his home in the 1850s. He played a key role in setting up the first European fort in Pembina, right where Minnesota, North Dakota, and Canada meet. Besides his business ventures, Kittson had a passion for racehorses and even owned a thoroughbred racetrack located where the Midway Shopping Center now stands near Snelling & University in St. Paul. Fun fact: the nearby music venue, the Turf Club, actually takes its name and branding from Kittson’s old racetrack.

2017. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper. 22x30"

Pierre Bottineau was a Métis guide, surveyor, and translator who helped travelers along the Red River Ox Cart Trail. He earned the nickname the "Kit Carson of the Northwest" because of his many accomplishments. According to his obituary, Bottineau spoke French, English, Dakota, Ojibwe, Cree, Mandan, and Winnebago. He first settled in St. Paul but later moved to what is now Northeast Minneapolis, where a neighborhood still bears his name. He passed away in 1895 at his final homestead in Red Lake, Minnesota.

This work features the Métis flag, a traditional sash, and a beadwork pattern that reflect Métis culture. The Métis are people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, though the meaning of the term has evolved over time. The Métis flag, first used in 1816 before the Battle of Seven Oaks, symbolizes a historic dispute over pemmican—a vital food—between two fur trading rivals: the Northwest Company and the Hudson Bay Company.

2017. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper.

George Bonga was one of the first Black men born in Minnesota. His father, Pierre Bonga, had been a slave brought to Mackinac Island, Michigan, by a British officer. After the officer passed away, Pierre was freed and later married an Ojibwe woman—George’s mother. Both Pierre and George worked as fur traders. While studying in Montreal, George became fluent in English, French, and Ojibwe—skills that made him a valuable translator. Growing up between cultures, he played an important role as a negotiator between American Indian and European communities. According to the Minnesota Historical Society, George felt “comfortable in white and Ojibwe society” and identified with both. He even referred to himself as one of the first two white men in Minnesota—not because of his skin color, but because of his involvement in European American culture. George Bonga died in 1874 at a lodge he had founded on Leech Lake.

2016. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper.

“Farmer Del” Hampton is one of the founders of the Prospect Park Community Gardens, which includes two locations: Arthur and Yale gardens —both located near the historic Red River Ox Cart Trail. Beyond managing the gardens, Del is also dedicated to the community through youth outreach programs that teach kids about caring for and growing plants.