POST FALLS - Thanks to the hands of local students, an artist and a $1,000 grant from the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center has its first piece of permanent artwork.

A mosaic is composed of large salmon swimming upstream, symbolizing the area's history as fishing grounds for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe is now part of the JACC's chimney and patio.

"It's nice to have a permanent display of what we do at the JACC, especially something that kids helped create," said Shaina Nomee, the JACC's executive director. "We're about igniting a passion for the arts."

Nomee said arts education is at the heart of JACC programming.

The nonprofit recently partnered with artist Melissa Cole and students from Crosswalk North Idaho and the Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County on the project.

The grant paid for art supplies and Cole's visit.

As part of its 1992 gaming compact with the state, the Tribe returns 5 percent of its net gaming revenues to education. Since then, the Tribe has donated more than $20 million to education, including this donation to arts.

"Study after study has shown that kids who are exposed to arts are more likely to succeed," said Chief Allan, Tribe chairman. "Arts can motivate kids and help them focus. It perks creativity and keeps them engaged so they are more poised to succeed down the road."

Cole was born in Oregon and grew up in London, Hong Kong and India. She graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in zoology. She has spent time working in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic in environmental education, as a dive guide in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and as a naturalist guide in Baja, Mexico. She has written more than 30 children's natural history books and travels with her husband Brandon, who is a wildlife photographer specializing in marine life.