Charles and Dee (1)
Charles and Dee
- Creator: Samuel (Sam) Paden
- Date: 2016
- Location: s Office
- Types: paintings (visual works)
- Materials: mixed media, canvas
- Collection: Visual Chronicle Collection
Samuel Paden is a two spirit and autistic citizen of ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ — Cherokee Nation and of settler descent. They carry with them their cross-cultural influences as well as experiences growing up in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo where their parents worked. They work in several art mediums. They are ever grateful to the teachers and elders who have shared with them their knowledge and practice. On October 3, 1902, Charles Williams, age 17, began a year-long sentence for grand larceny. Orphaned at age 11, Williams gained Trusty status within months of his arrival at the Idaho State Penitentiary. On January 6, 1903, Dee Jensen, age 15 arrived at the Idaho State Penitentiary. He had just been sentenced for stealing a horse in Kootenai County. Jensen gained Trusty status, alongside Williams', shortly after his arrival. The two worked together cleaning the Administration Building. On April 2, 1903, the pair failed to return to their cells, instead making a mad dash for freedom. Two days and 20 miles later, local officials in Nampa, Idaho, apprehended the pair at a haystack a mile outside of town. An attorney's plea to have the boys sent to the reform school at St. Anthonys, Idaho, went unanswered. instead, an Ada County judge added one more year to the boys' original sentence.
