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We cannot let Native American Heritage Month pass without recognizing some of our favorite artists. Our hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas is rich with resources to explore the history of indigenous tribes. The Museum of Native American History (MONAH) offers a wonderful permanent collection along with powerful events. If you are local, Dr. Greg Gagnon is presenting The Story of the Chippewa at MONAH on November 30. As you drive around Northwest Arkansas, you’ll notice commemorative signs for the original route of the Trail of Tears; “Trail of Tears” in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas estimates that 60,000 indigenous people, enslaved people from Africa, white spouses, and Christian missionaries traveled through the northwest corner of Arkansas on their way to Oklahoma. If you bike or walk the Crystal Bridges trail system, you may encounter A Place Where They Cried (the Cherokee translation of Trail of Tears), a moving stone sculpture placed by a shady creek, just two miles from the actual route of the Trail of Tears. And then there’s the Crystal Bridges collection….

Before their last gallery redesign, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art had a side gallery dedicated to art from indigenous people, and that’s where Julie first encountered Jeffrey Gibson’s What We Want, What We Need and his thought-provoking artist statement describing romanticized portrayals of tribal life as “a form of cultural repression that does not recognize the pain and trauma of factual and historical truths which have continued to impact Native communities to this day.” His words inspired us to create a compare/contrast activity What We Want, What We Need and George de Forest Brush’s The Indian and The Lily. We can always expect a passionate discussion on idealism vs. realism and art’s relationship to truth when we explore these works. You’ll find the latest version of this activity “Beauty & Truth: The Indian and The Lily and What We Want, What We Need” in the Teacher’s Guide for Indigenous People’s Perspectives. If you follow art, expect to see more of Jeffrey Gibson; he was recently named a 2019 MacArthur Fellow (often called the genius grants).

Also in our Indigenous People’s Perspectives Teacher’s Guide, you’ll find “Then/Now with Cost of Removal” featuring the work of Titus Kaphar and “Native Hosts (Arkansas): What Is Art?” exploring Edgar Heap of Birds’ sign series. We will share more about these artists and their works in future blogs.

We were so fortunate to develop these lessons in collaboration with Jay Benham. Jay is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. We first met him as a museum educator at Cyrstal Bridges, but he is an artist with work displayed throughout the United States. If you have a chance to view Jay’s work or take one of his tours at Crystal Bridges, don’t miss it!

--Heather & Julie