A Preview of Contemporary American Indian Artists

In the previous posts, I have discussed a great deal about how American Indian Art and traditional aspects are very much intertwined.  Even furthering this argument is an school named the Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA), where many of today's contemporary artists have attended school and and are now producing their own art, which aren't necessarily traditional art forms but are derived from their cultures and world view.  I was also fortunate enough to conduct an interview with a student of IAIA by the name of Vernon Otero, and will add his comments where appropriate.  Through the remaining duration of this blog, I will discuss contemporary artists who have attended IAIA or other art schools and show you what images are currently being produced, many of which have social and political undertones. 

The artists who will be highlighted today are Bunky Echohawk (the artist who has been featured on the background of this blog), Jason Garcia, David Bradley, and Vernon Otero.  These artists are are not only the creators of beautiful pieces of art, but also creative agents who help define, revive, and pass on their cultures utilizing art.  Their artwork provides an pivotal role for continuity and change within American Indian cultures.

Bunky Echohawk is an American Indian artist from the Pawnee and Yakama Nations, rather than trying to explain his genius, below is a link to a video of his personal profile, he states his inspiration and motivation comes from"injustice in Indian Country, there are a great number of atrocities that our people faced through the past 500 years...there's a lot of ignorance,  a lot of preconceived notions about who we are there's a lot of misconceptions, a lot of stereotypes and I feel like through art I can attack some of those and through art I can help reeducate a public."

BUNKY ECHOHAWK VIDEO 

This video demonstrates the close connection to Bunky and his community. He says he is interested in creating art for Native people, probably because they are easily able to relate to the art he produces, and for other people interested in the plight of American Indians today.  Below are a few of his pieces that really demonstrate his ability to create art with political messages.

MY INTERPRETATION AND INSIGHTS:
To the left, is a political painting with the caption "Is America Ready to Learn the Truth Yet", as I interpret this photo, I see how many Natives are freeze framed into images of the past, Sitting Bull the Native man in black and white was a leader of his people and I interpret this as his truth and the truth of Native peoples of this land has been silenced by mass media.  Across the bottom is a political commentary about how the US government is now colonizing Iraq with a reference to the Bureau of Iraqi Affairs (BIA)referencing the current sector of federal government that handles Native issues called the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).  I interpret that reference to Iraq as the United States government colonizing another country through the present war we are involved in. The Trust Mismanagement reference is to the multitude of cases stemming from government misuse and mismanagement of Indian monies (recently a case in the Supreme Court was settled Cobell v. US admitting that the government mismanaged Indian monies and is the process of fixing their mistake and paying back the tribal members of effected tribes).

MY INTERPRETATION AND INSIGHTS:

 To the right is an image of masked figures dressed in traditional wear.  Why the gas masks? Many of Bunky's paintings feature masked figures, which I interpret as a metaphor for the toxic chemicals and uranium mines that are currently being housed on various Indian reservations throughout America.  Note the bio hazard symbol on the skull.  I can tell these images are meant to be Native because of the clothes they are wearing which are traditional wear for some tribes. 

Without some background on issues that affect Indian Country, it may be hard for some people to correctly interpret his symbolism, and who knows maybe my interpretations were not what the artist was trying to convey, that is one feature of art that makes it intriguing.

Jason Garcia is the next artist I will highlight, his art is also culturally derived from the history of the Pueblo American Indian tribes along the Rio Grande river in New Mexico.  He is from the Turtle Mountain and Santa Clara Nations.  I view his work as bridging the gap between traditional Pueblo culture and modern culture, below are a few of his paintings, some which are done on tiles.  A more in depth biography and list of his credentials can be found by clicking in this link: JASON GARCIA Biography

MY INTERPRETATION AND INSIGHTS:

For the non-Pueblo Indian, the Natives in these paintings are dressed in traditional clothing, used during specific dances, minus the capes, that is the artist being channeled through his work. Although scarves are used for some dances in certain Pueblos. On the far right the lady is dressed traditionally and using a modern cell phone, this to me is a very real time depiction of Pueblo Indians, as we still practice our culture while simultaneously are immersed in wider society.

Po'Pay the man pictured above and to the right, is a pivotal character in Pueblo history.  Before White settlers came to the Southwest, the Spanish colonized Pueblo tribes.  Po'Pay orchestrated a revolt against Spanish conquistadores.  He is a true hero of the Pueblo Indians because he organized the revolt, that was ultimately successful,  among 24 different Nations, speaking six different languages, and spanning 400 miles.  So equipped with this history, Garcia's depiction of Po'Pay paints a very true image of a hero for the sovereign nations of the Pueblo tribes. Note the small Spanish conquistadores at the feet of Po'Pay in the cartoon cover painting. By using the template of a cartoon cover, Garcia blends modern art with past history as well as conveying the true history to not only his people but an uneducated public as well, similar to Echohawks mission.  

The next featured artist is David Bradley, whose work I saw first hand at the Denver Art Museum.  David Bradley is from the Chippewa Nation and graduated from IAIA, a short biography can be found by clicking on this link David P. Bradley Biography   His piece carries a social and political message of how American Indians are portrayed to mainstream America.  The image below is called "Land O Fakes" 

MY INTERPRETATION AND INSIGHTS:

Many people are aware of the Land O Lakes butter advertising, and unconsciously absorb the images of what Native people look like.  The "Indian maiden" in this picture is holding money, which to me, represents the money corporations make off of false portrayals of Natives while simultaneously promote a stereotypical image of Natives to the public.

Many times, we see images of different cultural groups and do not question the authenticity of the image even questioning  if it is offensive to those people.  A popular controversy in Native America is amongst mascots, the image above can relay my feelings about that particular issue.  While these images are heavily peddled to the public, the corporations marketing these images rarely have any remorse or sympathy for the people actually affected by this misrepresentations and in my eyes promotes racism at the expense of oppressed people.

Now that we have seen some art produced by graduates of IAIA I have some pieces from a former IAIA student and his response to questions I had about the institution and his perspectives Indian art.  This student's name is Vernon Otero and he comes from the Chippewa Cree and Santa Ana Pueblo Nations.  Below is some of his art.

  

The eagle is painted on a real feather

I asked Vernon what his inspiration for creating images of eagles are and he shared with me, "A lot of what I do is just what is visually appealing to me personally.  The eagles I paint on the other hand have a more spiritual connection for me.




Being from Santa Ana, it is the clan my family belongs to and the other side of me is the animal has tremendous traditional significance being Chippewa Cree. And it doesn't hurt that it just looks cool and interesting."  Just as any artist, visual aesthetic takes priority while also influenced by an artist's culture.

The other picture is of an airbrushed design on a t-shirt.  Vernon's inspiration for using airbrush Vernon says is "I introduce an urban aspect with my airbrushing.  Somewhat similar to the graffiti culture of the hip-hop generation.  It depicts the assimilation which Native culture has now become living in a modern society."  Once again a common re-occurrence of the theme of a multidimensional culture being portrayed through art.

Being that the majority of the artists previewed in this blog post have either attended IAIA or graduated from there, I asked Vernon if it seems like his fellow students while at IAIA draw from cultural aspects to which he gave a very good response.  "One thing I took from my time at IAIA was that any work created by a Native artists is traditional art.  It is only dubbed contemporary by the industry and the criteria in which fulfill their standards of being traditional.  I choose to not look at my work as contemporary or traditional rather "Vernesque".  That's a sad think about being a Native artists, that "traditional" art is prized and far more valuable to non-Native enthusiasts or collectors.  Many new and contemporary artists get overlooked and stop practicing." The art industry has created a space for American Indian art, but is it only American Indian art when it reflects the artist's culture?  This is an important question to be asked because it goes back to only viewing Native peoples as one dimensional and freeze framing them in their traditional ways of life.  In reality, most Native people lead complex lives living within two worlds of traditional and contemporary.

I ended the interview with Mr. Otero by asking "Where do you see Native art going, or expect it to go in the future?" to which he responded: "I have no particular expectation, as long as it is still being produced.  More often than not, social and political messages are in every piece of art today.  Maybe even subliminal messages. I personally like people to look at my work and hear their perspectives and interpretations before revealing my intent.  I like what Native artists today are doing, it's just that there is no market for their work." It is important to remember that many times art movements are not titled so until after there comes a time to historically label a movement and artists who are famous today were not highly recognized until after their deaths.

Ending the interview with this rather sad note, I feel it is important to realize the colonization of art, what is considered art, and who makes up these "guidelines" for what the industry dubs art.  "During the 1930s, influential writers, curators, and arts administrators continued to advance the cause of both Native American art and folk art as aspects of an indigenous, populist Americanism. Elizabeth White demonstrated to sophisticated New Yorkers that Indian art had a place in a colonial revival (Berlo, 18)." As I have mentioned in previous posts, Native art was not highly marketed internationally until after World War I when America sought to be different than Europe.  Socially, Americans did this by popularizing Native American art and folk art because those were the truly unique aspects of American culture that could effectively distinguish America from Europe.

Keeping this history in mind, now that America is distinct from Europe and people of color are in the post-Civil Rights era, this has allowed for Native artists to mirror their realities apart from solely traditional realms of art.

If there is no market for a type of art would the art cease to be created?  For many Native artists, this would not be the scenario as the art produced is a product of a culture and in many ways tied to epistemology's of these tribes.  The modern and contemporary art of the artist featured above is a self reflection of where Native peoples are today and how American society has influenced American Indian identity but did not succeed in eliminating it or assimilating Indigenous groups.

I personally look forward to what American Indian artist continue to produce to educate their people but also wider society as to who and what a modern American Indian is through the eyes of art.  As demonstrated by the pieces above, art can have a whole different meaning to the creator and interpreter.  If one is to take the responsibility of educating themselves to diverse cultures and world views, a whole new realm of education can be achieved utilizing art.   

JEWELRY: from traditional to art and fashion

All tribes have different forms of jewelry which may be used to symbolize certain meanings, used during specific dances or simply as personal adornment.  This blog post will focus on the jewelry of the Akimel O'odham tribe of Arizona previously known as the Pima Indians ("Pima" was a miscommunication between the tribe and Spanish conquistadores so I will refer to them as Akimel O'odham or just O'odham which is more culturally specific).  The O'odham people and are located just South of Phoenix, AZ.  I interviewed a well know spiritual healer from the Akimel O'odham tribe who also makes traditional shell jewelry named Timothy Terry Jr. 

Tim Terry, Jr. has been etching and carving shells for over 20 years and has participated at the famous market at the Heard Museum in Phoenix for over seven years, attended the Santa Fe Indian Market for two years, and been a featured artitst at the the Pueblo Grande Art Show for the past eight years.  The Heard Museum has also asked for his knowledege to understand ancient collections of shells found around the Pheonix area.  Apart from the art he produces, Tim's main job title is the work he does with his tribe as a drug and alcohol counselor.  He combines his jewelry and art with his job as a counselor to help heal the people in his community who suffer from substance addictions. Tim has been involved in creating art his whole life, about 45 years.  He learned traditional techniques of making jewelry from his grandfather but perfected his own style in subsequent years.  The main jewelry Tim makes is made out of shells.


To the Akimel O'odham tribe, located in the desert, the shell represents and honors the ocean and water.  In the O'odham tribe, the ocean is a female entity representing water as life and fertility.  To the O'odham, the shell is used as a symbol to remember the importance of water because it gives life and is extremely important to agricultural practices in the desert.  Tim explained to me where his people obtained the shells they began to make their jewelry with.  "A long time ago the shells were acquired through trade with tribes in Southern California or to pilgrimages to the ocean in Mexico for shells and sea salt" said Tim. 

Tim is able to render intricate traditional designs on shells, and he has said that his more traditional style of art garners the most attention.  The turquoise stone used is a stone for good luck and a symbol of prosperity for his tribe and many others.    Here are a few pictures of the jewelry he produces:

These are a few of his jewelry pieces, of which the traditional designs of his people are etched.  One is the kokepelli image and the other (above) the popular image of the "Man in the Maze" design.  In the O'odham tribe, the "Man in the Maze" represents ones journey in life.  A more clear representation can be seen to the right.



As Tim explained to me the human figure at the top represents any human, and the maze, represent that humans journey through life.  Although it is called "Man in the Maze", Tim explained to me that it is a representation of a human no matter their sex.  The corners represent low points in life or hardships faced, such as death, divorce, or any negative experiences.  The rounded straight lines represent happy or high points in an individuals life, and the center dot represents the passage into the world after death, not heaven or hell just the next place after death as the O'odham tribe does not believe in such binaries.  There is one last last corner before reaching the center that represents, a last reflection on life before death, to clear your consicouss before meeting your ancestors in the center.  Tim incorporates the "Man in the Maze" design in much of his art.  


Tim says "when I make jewelry, I make it with positive thoughts and repect the materials I am working with."(Similar to Maria Martinez's thanks to the earth before gathering clay to be used for her pottery mentioned in my previous post).  Much of the traditional intentions of wearing jewelry was for protection from hardships and bad energies that can affect a person.  This is where Tim's work with the art he produces and his substance abuse counseling intersect.  Since he is a counselor for his tribe, he produces art and jewelry to educate his people about traditional ways and uses the traditional jewelry as a way to heal people from addictions.  To the O'odham, once an addiction, of any kind, consumes your life a part of the addiction manifests itself into your life or spirit.  When one is to quit an addiction that leaves a "hole" in the persons spirit that can be filled with something else or healed through traditional practices and using traditional art forms such as jewelry to accompany the traditional healing practices.  As I have mentioned, many tribes do not view jewelry or art they produce as separate from their epistemologies and ways of life.   


Not only does Mr. Terry use his jewelry for traditional healing but also as an alternate form of income.  Many of his pieces contain such an alluring aesthetic it can be used to simply decorate a home.  Here are more of his creations.

To the right, a shell with the "Man in the Maze" and water symbols etched on the bottom.  And above a rattle snake etching which is common on the O'odham homeland.















 While he frequently gifts his art to people he also sells it at various markets or through personal contact. (If anyone is interested let me know :)). 



More of his jewelry is seen here, earrings and a necklace.  Many of his unique creations are frequently given as gifts as well.



It is important for Native jewelers to sign their jewelry or include a business card letting the purchaser know the jewelers name and which tribe they come from.  This in accordance with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.  This act protects misrepresentations of Indian Art and the Indian it refers to is one of a federally recognized tribe of the United States or Alaskan Natives.  It is interesting to me that people would imitate the Indian art and try to produce a fake product because as we all know, Indian Art is made with special intentions, purposes and meanings.  The law protects against false representations of traditional and contemporary art after 1935 and a violation of this act can result in fines or prison.  This law has allowed many Natives another avenue to promote their culture while also gaining another form of income.  


Here is an interesting article regarding cultural appropriation that was recently written by Indian Country today, please check it out, it is titled "Culture Clash: Native Made vs. Native-Inspired.


CULTURAL APPROPRIATION OF AMERICAN INDIAN JEWELRY

Thanks for reading I hope you have gained even more knowledge of the Indigenous people to this land and more specifically the Akimel O'odham tribe. More to come soon!

POTTERY : A Journey from Functional to Art

As I had started to describe in the previous post, much of what today is considered American Indian Art, serves a function within a certain tribe's culture.  This blog will focus on pottery made by the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest.  "There are nineteen individual pueblos in the Southwest.  They are commonly divided into six distinct language groups: Tiwa, Towa, Tewa, Keresan, Zuni, and Hopi" (Hucko, 6).  This blog will focus on pottery produced by the Tewa speaking  pueblos especially potters of Santa Clara and San Ildefonso. 

A sign I found at the recently revamped Denver Art Museum described the cultural function of art as so: "Some of these artists learned their techniques from relatives and elders, others received formal schooling and professional apprenticeships, and some received fine art degrees from institutions...their inspiration is varied as well--some find it in cultural traditions, others in contemporary art movements, but all posses the inner drive to experiment and create".  Most of what is today considered Indian Art comes from the peoples way of life, "In their own language, Tewa people have no word for art.  Pottery, paining, embroidery, dance, and other "art" forms are not considered separate from life.  On the contrary, art is seen as synonymous for work, thoughts, and expressions" (Hucko, 4).

It is important to realize many indigenous groups have been studied by anthropologists and many of their societies tools were also studied.  "The early decades of the Twentieth century marked an intense interest in Native artistry and individuality on the part of a small group of anthropologists, most of them students of Franz Boas.  Pueblo pottery, Navajo weaving, and California basket-making, for example, all came under scholarly scrutiny. In these studies, the role of the individual artist was a new subject—for individual agency had never been part of what anthropologists had studied(Berlo, 6)." 

Below are some of the pottery housed in the CU-Museum that anthropologist have collected:

This picture shows multiple functions for pottery.  Some of these potteries are used as bowls, the bowls with the handles are either gourds cut down the middle to serve as ladles, and the black and white jug in the back row serves to store water.  This was mentioned on the signs at the museum but was not highlighted, was the importance of certain potteries for traditional and healing ceremonies and the effort that goes into making a piece of pottery and understanding that even a piece of pottery possesses a spirit because it comes from the earth, like the creation stories of the Pueblo Indians. 


In the 20th century, Maria Martinez, of Santa Clara and San Ildefonso Pueblos perfected the art of pottery.  She put her own unique twist on pottery and became world re known for her work.  Please take the time to watch the video clips below, they explain the traditional way of making pottery combined with her artistic spirit.

Maria Martinez gathering clay to make Pottery

and


The Legacy of Maria Martinez




As you can see from these video clips, Maria was very influential to the art of pottery but more importantly gave the Pueblo people a way to sustain themselves through traditional art forms and ways of life, giving their epistemologies the respect they deserve while continuing cultural practices.

While Maria Martinez pioneered pottery into an art form, many others continued her legacy through even more contemporary art forms.  Today the Pueblos have various potters with a few gaining international attention including potters such as Diego Romero and sculptor Roxanne Swentzell.

Diego Romero comes from Cochiti Pueblo and utilizes ceramic made potteries to serve as the canvas for his social and personal "comic series"  Below is a a few pictures of his artwork.  A few of his pieces can also be seen locally at the CU-Museum and the Denver Art Museum.

Another prominent sculptor using her own technique, but pueblo clay and traditions, is Roxanne Swentzell.  While her work is controversial to some, it is also representative of the avenues Native artists take traditional forms.  See the images of her work below.

Her sculptures vary from in size, she is currently working on a 20 foot interactive art piece at the Denver Art Museum.



As you can see the progression of this single art form from the Southwest region, of Pueblo Indians in particular, we are able to see how the function of pottery has changed from a purely functional use to that of a very artistic art form.  But it is important to remember that pottery is still made and used in traditional ceremonies as well.  Many other art forms from multiple American Indian regions have gone through this progression with different art forms as well.  In the blogs to come other images will depict these evolutions and further discuss what this art means to the Indigenous of this land.

A (really, really long) note on language and terminology and Links to Art

Hello followers! Thanks for checking out my blog! I have taken a two ethnic studies courses about American Indians, one called American Indians in Film and the other American Indian Women.  The instructor, who was the same for both courses, provided a more detailed list of terminology than the one listed in my previous post.  Please take the time to read this, I feel like it could help a lot of us understand the different names American Indians know and have gone by in the past.  American Indian identities are listed as well. This "Note on Terminology" was written by two American Indian professors one of whom teaches here at CU-Boulder.  Keep in mind the audience for this "Note on Terminology" are these professors classes, but most Natives participating in their respective tribes agree with these terms and identity structures.  This is how they expect their college level students to scholastically write using these terms.  It is important to note this is coming from an American Indian scholar D. Nason and not myself although I agree with all the statements made below.

It is important to me for make sure people understand Native identities as what they truly are, along with many other cultures: a side bar to American history.  My hope is to educate the reader of my blog before delving into Indian art.

Acronyms:     Native American Studies (NAS)

                     Ethnic Studies (ES)

 A (really, really long) note on language and terminology: 

In your essays, you will be asked to take the position of a Native American Studies critic. It is therefore important that you understand that the language you choose must project an understanding of your field and your audience of other NAS or ES scholars. Below are some suggestions to help you negotiate the field of NAS in your writing as well as learn some basic tenets of NAS critiques. This list is not about being politically correct; it is about making rhetorical choices that will lend you credibility and hopefully make you think about the power of language. 

What do we call you people anyway? 

The most common question I hear semester after semester is what terms to use for Native peoples. So here is a list: 

1) Native American: This term is commonly used in academia in the US; however, many Native people feel it is suspect because it defines them as people only after “America” was discovered. It is perfectly fine to use in this course, but you should understand why it is not always used in the field. 

2) First Nations: You will see this term most often when we watch or read Canadian film or novels. If you use this term, understand that most people in the field will think you mean Canadian Native peoples (other than Inuit and Metis which in Canada often are not included under the term First Nations). 

3) American Indian: Most stylebooks in the US still recommend this term for Native peoples and many Native scholars still prefer it. Again, it is fine for this course. DO NOT USE INDIAN AMERICAN. 

4) Indian: Most Native scholars in the US still refer to their communities and cultural production with this term because they feel it is more specific and somewhat denotes a particular subject position as a Native person writing about cultural production from the inside. Others use the term because it denotes a legal status of “Indian” peoples via treaties and other forms of federal recognition. In your papers, I would prefer you use other terms since using Indian is not always going to be acceptable to professors down the road and also avoids taking on a persona many may not have claim to (as an insider). 

5) Native peoples (cultures, languages, etc.): “Native” should always be capitalized and always be used as an adjective. Referring to Native peoples as “natives” may be seen as too anthropological and primitivizing—it is also not very specific since anyone can be “native-born” but not indigenous. 

6) Indigenous peoples: perfectly fine—same restrictions as “Native”; often used to designate a wider more global constituency or in international contexts (i.e. Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Pacific Islands, Ainu of Japan, etc). 

7) Aboriginal peoples: This is most commonly used for Indigenous populations outside the US such as Canada or Australia. Most Native scholars in the US avoid this term or use it to refer to Indigenous populations from these other countries where it is commonly used. In Canada, the term is used to encompass all Native persons who are Inuit, First Nations, Metis, Status or Non-status Native persons under the Indian Act. 

8) When possible, BE TRIBALLY SPECIFIC: If we read a novel about Choctaw communities, then use “Choctaw” in your analysis. This is the most respectful way to approach terminology because it shows that you understand that each Native nation is unique and sovereign with its own cultural set of practices, language, history, etc. Rhetorically, it’s just better to be specific anyway. 

D. Nason 2011 2 

“They,” “The Man” aka “Whitey” 

Another stumbling block for writing essays is using appropriate terms to describe racial tensions, biases, ideologies between and within groups. A basic tendency for all writers is to oversimplify these often very complicated issues by reducing arguments to a simple Native/white binary. What is often overlooked in doing so is that racist ideologies and “master narratives” in society are not only perpetuated or internalized by one group of people. Therefore, it is often more appropriate to attribute a cultural bias or dominant discourse/stereotypical idea to the wider context from which it arises (settler colonialism, racist ideologies about indigenous peoples, liberal notions of progress, etc) and include the detail about who voices it in your analysis (most often in the stories that we read, this is voiced by those in positions of power who most often benefit from these ideas—settlers/whites, but not always). 

Plural phrasing: 

One of the major critiques in NAS is that most scholarship and popular perceptions view Native peoples as a monolithic culture or in non-specific ways. Therefore in NAS it is considered poor form to describe anything related to Indigenous communities in the singular. SO, when you are writing generally, use plural phrasing: 

Native peopleS, cultureS, societieS, communitieS, languageS, religionS, etc. 

AVOID “The Native peoples . . .” The “the” makes the phrase “Native peoples” monolithic and singular. 

Culture Club: 

As a writing teacher, one of the most frustrating words in the English language is the word “culture”—mainly because it is used to mean everything and anything; especially when it comes to Native peoples. Therefore, I strongly advise using this term sparingly. In your analysis, when you are discussing a character‟s struggle with his family‟s expectations or community pressures—tell your reader specifically how he fights with his mother over attending a community feast; don‟t tell us the character is at odds with his “culture” in the second chapter. Theoretically, in ES and NAS many scholars point out that in academia, we over-use this term to “other” communities. In an analysis of Moby Dick, we don‟t describe Ahab‟s every move as a function of his “culture”—but we do for people of color. This kind of thinking comes out of the idea that “normal Americans” have no culture and non-white peoples come into American society with “culture.” Therefore peoples with “culture” must “lose” it in order to become “normal Americans” or like the “dominant” culture. With Native peoples‟ opposition to assimilation policies, you can understand why this kind of thinking would be offensive. 

Absolutes and making claims: 

Be aware of your subject position and understand that there are just some things that nobody can really say unless you‟ve done exhaustive research or you are from a specific community. A major critique in the field of NAS is that for too long non-Native scholars and critics have assumed to know everything about Native peoples without understanding the extreme diversity of Native experience, contemporarily or historically. Most often writers run into trouble when they make statements about a whole group of people assuming an authority that is almost god-like using absolutes and making sweeping claims, such as: 

Native peoples never believed that . . . or Choctaw women are extremely spiritual. 

In order to make these statements less “othering” or overreaching and more rhetorically convincing, a better way to write is simply to attribute sources, get rid of absolutes and make these statements more specific. 

According to Native scholar Louis Owens, many Native communities were skeptical of . . . 

In the novel, some of the Choctaw women represented are very committed to traditional Choctaw spirituality as well as the revivalist Methodist church. D. Nason 2011 3 

When in doubt about how you phrase a certain statement: replace the Native subjects with any other group of people like or “Cal students” “Nebraskans” or “Americans”. Does it sound funny? Then, it probably is “othering” in its phrasing: REPHRASE. 

“O’ woe is me.” The so-called “plight” of Native peoples: 

As we have discussed in class, a major stereotype of Native Americans is that they are a group of psychologically ruined people under the pressures of colonialism—completely tragic and defeated. This stereotype manifests itself in writing through statements that depict Native peoples as having a “plight” or in passive phrasing that individualizes historical and political events instead of recognize the role of actions and policies committed by non-Native men and women. Be careful of phrasing that “blames the victim” or could be read as upholding the “tragic” or “vanishing Indian” stereotype. For example: 

Tragic: Champions‟ plight is his inability to deal with the trauma of the boarding school. 

Better: The boarding school priests punctuated their assimilationist views with physical abuse that Champion had a hard time forgetting. In the first scene home, Champion thinks of the time the priest . . . 

Another way to think about this is in the context of this quote by Linda Tuhiwai Smith: 

“Academic research on Maori [and Native peoples generally] became . . . obsessed with describing various modes of cultural decay. The „fatal impact‟ of the West on indigenous societies generally has been theorized as a phased progression from: (1) initial discovery and contact, (2) population decline, (3) acculturation, (4) assimilation, (5) „reinvention‟ as a hybrid, ethnic culture. While the terms may differ across various theoretical paradigms the historical descent into a state of nothingness and hopelessness has tended to persist. Indigenous perspectives also show a phased progression, more likely to be articulated as: (1) contact and invasion, (2) genocide and destruction, (3) resistance and survival, (4) recovery as indigenous peoples” (88). 

“Is basketball sacred?” Creating unrealistic binaries and refusing to see Native peoples as contemporary communities: 

Although Native Americans are members of distinct nations and communities, Native peoples are also contemporary peoples. In writing, oftentimes scholars have a tendency to create unrealistic binaries in their efforts to note certain cultural differences or to explain resistance to assimilationist views or policies. In my classes, students repeat this tendency by writing arguments that pit American Indians in complete opposition to “Americans” or “Western” culture. For example: 

USING SIMPLE BINARIES: In the short story, the fact that the young men are playing basketball shows the assimilation of the Spokane community because basketball is an American sport. 

REWRITTEN ARGUMENT: In the short story, Adrian and Victor, two Spokane teenagers, see the local basketball court as a space of freedom and unhindered expectations for young men and women in their community. 

Final Argument Construction: 

WRITE THESIS STATEMENTS ABOUT THE NOVEL OR TEXT IN QUESTION. 

Most issues are more complicated than Indian vs. white man or strict binaries. Think through your arguments and keep them within the context of your subject (the novel, movie, poem, etc) NOT about Native peoples in general. This will help you avoid making simple binary observations and reifying the belief that Native peoples are always the opposite of contemporary society. D. Nason 2011 4 

WHERE DID MY IDENTITY GO? IT WAS JUST HERE! 

This note is similar to the note on culture. Phrasing that fixes “identity” as a monolithic entity that one either has or does not have is not reflective of actual lived experience. We occupy multiple and intersecting “identities” (race, class, gender, sexuality, etc), but for some reason when it comes to Native peoples, writers insist on this aspect of identity as the MOST important and one that must be maintained through an impossible purity (i.e. one cannot be a Mormon and Native, can they?). Or writers simply get a bit lazy as with “culture” and write about someone “losing her identity” and never explain exactly what it is that has been “lost”. Another thing to think about is, was this “lost” or did it change? Or is that change a function of cultural loss or simply a matter of being human in a contemporary setting?

THANKS for reading thoroughly!  I find the power in language is very important to conveying your message and it is even more important when talking about groups of people, especially a group like Native Americans who have almost been removed from our cultural imagination.  When a certain group is almost "invisible" in a land that was once completely theirs, there has to be some concern! But how does this happen?  In the case of American Indians, much of this happened, and is still happening systematically. Through court cases today know as the Marshall Trilogy, the Doctrine of Discovery, the Dawes Act, the Manifest Destiny, Indian Removal and Relocation etc.,  laws enacted by a foreign colonialist structure mixed with the combination of a diverse number of small Indian tribes (having distinct cultures, languages, and traditions etc.) this was achieved, yes believe the government claims this, LEGALLY!" As Walter R. Echo-Hawk says, "An analysis of the law might shed some light on that controversy.  In places where genocide or ethnocide occur, the law plays various roles.  The law can legitimize or legalize the deliberate and systematic destruction of a people or their culture, as in the case of Nazi Germany, where legal system was part of the genocidal process." (Echo-Hawk, 399).

There is really too much material to to get into this as my blog is dedicated to art, so take the initiative to learn this yourself but be warned it is a very depressing history of genocide.  So here is the connection, now that the majority of the American population has been taught that American Indians either do not exist or are have a stereotypical idea of what an American Indian is, there has become a "fascination" of American Indian art and the image of American Indians in the American imagination is highly mystified. Another repercussion of this is the commodification of American Indian art.  Many Americans when thinking of the mystic Indian may imagine something like this image portrays a connection to the earth, animals and spirituality

 

































OR PERHAPS

YOU GREW UP

ON DISNEY

MOVIES?---->








wanna hear the song again???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkV-of_eN2w






If those aren't mystic popular images of Indians, I don't know what is!  


 Now, pairing these images with "vanishing Indian" stereotype and the pan term "Native American", this leads to the lack of diversity understood within the Indigenous population within America, one aspect of Native culture that can change this perception that all Natives are the same, is art.  When you look at art from different regions of American, there are distinct differences.  Maybe because we are now so few in numbers, an art owner may want to collect certain pieces thus a market for American Indian art is developed as a source of income for some tribal members.  This has been the route for some Indian artists such as Maria Martinez from Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico a famous pottery maker. (Her work will be displayed in future blogs). Many things that art collectors collect such as pottery, sandpaintings and Indigenous regalia still have functional properties to the tribe from which they are produced.



I have found that most art produced stems from past functional use but as we enter a new time in American Indian history, more art being produced by tribal affiliated artists is often self-reflective of Natives in American culture.  Much of the American Indian art today, is produced to continue cultural practices but there is also a whole generation of artists creating art with political messages and drawing from their cultures to produce contemporary art. The next few blogs are going to show traditional art of the past, the 20th century, and what American Indian artists are creating presently to establish their artisan skills in the world of what is considered Art.

What is American Indian Art and Who am I to talk about it?

As a reader, coming across this blog, you may be asking yourself what American Indian art is or maybe what an American Indian is.    American Indian is synonymous to Native American or a person indigenous to North America.  Many scholars associate power with labels and names and here I choose to call Native Americans "American Indians," which is the name I like to identify with.  Like other cultures have done in the past, Native Americans have reclaimed terms and appropriated them for their own use.  For example, "Indian" is a term that has been reclaimed by many Native American groups and used for their intended purposes.  I use "American" to signify the location of origin of this particular "Indian".  So in using  the term American Indian, I have reclaimed Columbus' mistake when he thought he reached the Indies, when he had thought he "discovered" a new continent.  Much of the specification of name appropriation is to make an effort to further distinguish indigenous groups from specific areas in North America.  I also choose to use American Indian because I have met some Americans who although have resided in America for various generations, misuse the term Native American because they were not originally native to this country.  Although it is indisputable that people who are born in America are considered American, the term Native American would be inappropriately used because they did not originate from America.  Furthermore, "America" is a country that is only 235 years old, whereas Native American tribes date back thousands of years.  


Other terms commonly used and that may be referred to in these series of blogs are:

• Native-- meaning indigenous to America and also appropriates social and legal identities within America
• Indigenous--describing that America is the origins of Native tribes in this country
• Indigenous Nations-- a synonymous with tribe but with more governmental appropriation and sovereignty
• First Nations-- typically describing Native Tribes from Canada
• Specific tribal names will be employed through the blog as well.  Some of you may be familiar with "popular" tribes like Cherokee, Navajo, Apache, and Sioux.  While these are popular tribes in the American imagination it is important to realize there are approximately 530 federally recognized tribes that are rarely, if at all, mentioned in popular American culture and history. 
• Terms you may have heard that are offensive to many Natives, and you should avoid using are: Squaw, Redskin, Tonto, and Chief. 

The following is an example of a name appropriation which has changed for a Native tribe:  Eskimo--named by an anthropologist and other rival tribes is typically viewed as a pejorative term by tribal members, who now prefer to be called Inuit or Yupik, which is more tribally representative and, thus, more culturally specific.  When one is able to, it is important to describe Natives by their respective tribal names.  If you see a tribal name that you do not recognize, I encourage you to "google it" and learn where in particular a nation is located because North America is a big land mass comprised of various different tribal nations.

Taos Pueblo

As a Native person from Taos and Santa Ana Pueblos, located in New Mexico, I hope to bring more awareness and discussion to what American Indian art is: an integral part of culture, not a separate entity.  I hope to blend everyday life from many tribes into what we as Americans consider art and to trace Native American art's history ending with what art is for Native tribes today.  I call myself an "urban Indian" describing that I am Indian and grew up in an urban setting, but still have family on various reservations that I visit frequently in addition to participating in traditional lifestyles.  I also have Spanish and Italian ancestors who came to the Southwest region of North America before other Europeans as part of the Spanish conquest and the homestead act, respectively.  While I am multiracial, culturally I identify more with my Native side, as that is what I have grown up learning.


I was inspired to make my topic about American Indians because I feel wider society has very minimal knowledge of the first peoples of this land.  Hopefully, I need not remind you all Indigenous cultures have long histories before the pan "Native American" was formed.  There is much of Indian culture that is appropriated in society today and I think it is important for people to know where the origins of this art comes from.  Here is an interesting clip on American Indians and First Nations peoples and their art.

Where does "Modern" fit in to this you may ask?  The sign at the Denver Art Museum says, "The term modern in its simplest form implies the up-to-date, a current development, or, better still, a spirit in step with its own time."  The sign goes on to say, "Ranging for the utilization of large-scale factory production to maintaining longstanding craft values and traditions, as well as to developing a synthesis between the two, design encompasses a variety of methods, materials and concepts. And while these works may be of different generations, together they represent the past, present and future of what is modern."  Keeping this definition of modern in mind and applying that to American Indian art, the following blogs will begin to dissect the long history of American Indians and the art they have produced and continue to produce.  It is important to remember that the Civil Rights Movement happened less than 50 years ago and what is now considered contemporary Indian art is what has been produced after that time.


Because American Indian history is so vast, I myself am still learning on a daily basis about other tribes histories but if there are general questions you wish to ask please ask them and I will do my best to address them.