Welcome to Session Eight

"Through their work these six artists offer insights into the relationships between their traditions as  Indigenous members of tribes and nations, and contemporary life. Some celebrate persistence and kinship, while others contend with distressing issues of isolation, poverty, and violence. These artists ask us to consider their complicated realities, their lived experiences as Indigenous people, and their responsibility to honor the lifeways of their communities." Speaking with Light, Amon Carter Museum of American Art.

• On Romanticism, an essay by Paul Chatt Smith, author and associate curator at the National Museum of the American Indian from Everything You Know about Indians is Wrong, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009.

• Speaking with Light Contemporary Indigenous Photography, Denver Art Museum

• Historic Interstices of Indigenous Visualities and the Uprooting of Settler Terrains, 

• First Female Leader in Centuries Returns a Tribal Nation to Its Roots. Lisa Goree took the helm of the Shinnecock Nation in April  as the Long Island tribe navigates disputes over burial grounds and projects to build a casino and a gas station. By Corey Kilgannon, NY Times, June 10, 2024

• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day, UMass Office of the President

Scroll down to become acquainted with the work of the these six artists reflective of Nation. How do the pieces reflect the artists' seeking recognition for Indigenous existence, rights and cultural commitment?

Jeremy Dennis,  2016 - 2017, Nothing Happened... a photo series that explores the violence/non-violence of post-colonial Native American psychology.

"Nothing Happened Here explores the violence/non - violence of postcolonial Native American psychology. Reflecting upon my own experience and observations in my community, the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton, New York, specifically the burden of the loss of culture through assimilation, omission of our history in school curriculum, and loss of land and economic disadvantage; this series illustrates the shared damaged enthusiasm of living on indigenous lands without rectification. The arrows in each image act as a symbol of everlasting indigenous presence in each scene. The images may be as compelling if the subjects were of indigenous descent, but the decision to use non-native subjects reveals a shared burden. The question remains of how to overcome this troubled past. As we learn of early contact-period history between colonists and indigenous groups, that history sticks with us, and it is difficult not to link current predicament of power, gained or lost, with that important past."- Jeremy Dennis, Artist Statement

Kiliii Yuyan, Masks of Grief and Joy in the Land of the Yu'pik .This a story about a village on a remote island close to Siberia, where a community-led art therapy project called ‘ Masks of grief and joy’ empowers indigenous Alaskan teens to express their emotions about suicide.

"The village is called Gambell and with a population of around 700, it is one of two towns on Saint Lawrence Island. Saint Lawrence is formally part of Alaska, but it is closer to the Russian mainland than to the rest of Alaska. The traditional communities that live there don’t get many visitors because the strong winds from the Bering Strait often prevent planes from landing, which is also why many Yu’pik never leave during their lifetime." Masks of Grief and Joy in the Land of the Yu' Pik, A series, 2020, Injet print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, P202.41.© Kiliii Yüyan

"Landgraf, Au aIn 2019, Landgraf made a collection called “ ‘Au’a.” Landgraf's collection is one part of four pieces of the “Honolulu Biennial 2019 works at the Honolulu Museum of Art.” [15]

 ‘Au’a is a collection of 108 photographic portraits of Native Hawaiians who have made a positive impact on change in Hawaii. “The 108 participants in this 2019 project are artists, activists, friends, community leaders, and academic colleagues.”[16] Written across the participants face and neck is, "I am not American. Landgraf got the idea for the concept in 2012 when she went to the “National Endowment for the Humanities Bridging Cultures Conference,” and saw that there was no Native Hawaiian perspective there. People got up and said their message with the opening being “I am a proud American.” When it was time for Landgraf, she opened by saying “I am not American.” She was met with confusion and others disagreeing.[15] It was not easy for Landgraf to get participants for her project, she was met with refusals.They risked losing their jobs, the politics behind it, and being too close to home for them as well. They feared family, friends, and  colleagues would see and not agree with them. The message behind this piece is the, “native Hawaiian people stepped up to disclaim America.” [16 Wikipedia