ANCESTRAL, HISTORICAL & LIVING ARTS by INDIGENOUS PEOPLES of the AMERICAS
FırstAmericanArt MAGAZINE
NO. 28, FALL 2020
DISPLAY UNTIL JANUARY 6, 2021
SOUTHWEST GLASS ARTISTS
BILL GLASS JR.
CONTEMPORARY NATIVE ART BIENNIAL
JEAN LAMARR
VIRTUAL INDIAN MARKET WINNERS
SHELLEY NIRO
ANCIENT TEOTIHUACÁN
VIRGIL ORTIZ
PHOTOGRAPHY BY VANCEFOX.COM
Stewart Indian School operated as a federal boarding school for Great Basin Native children from 1890 to 1980. In January 2020, a new museum opened to interpret the history of the school through the stories and experiences of Stewart alumni. The museum features a permanent exhibition space, a storytelling room, a research room where families can learn about their relatives who attended Stewart, a classroom space for educational activities and public programs, and the Wa-Pai-Shone Gallery, operated by the Great Basin Native Artists.
NOW OPEN Hours are 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday Closed weekends and on state and federal holidays
Visit soon!
STEWART INDIAN SCHOOL CULTURAL CENTER & MUSEUM 1 Jacobsen Way Carson City, Nevada (775) 687-7608 www.stewartindianschool.com
WICIHITOWAK: TO HELP ONE ANOTHER. WICIHITOWAK: TO HELP ONE ANOTHER.
BETWEEN ARTISTS, ARTISANS, INDIGENOUS BETWEEN ARTISTS, ARTISANS, INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY CHARITIES AND THE BACA. COMMUNITY CHARITIES AND THE BACA.
NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS. FORM AVAILABLE ONLINE NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS. FORM AVAILABLE ONLINE
Beading, Ally & Megan, Turtle Bay Art Studio, Kahnawà:ke
AN ONLINE INDIGENOUS MARKETPLACE AN ONLINE INDIGENOUS MARKETPLACE AND A MUTUAL FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN AND A MUTUAL FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN
Beading, Ally & Megan, Turtle Bay Art Studio, Kahnawà:ke
wicihitowak.art wicihitowak.art
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and the School of Visual Arts at the University of Oklahoma are pleased to invite you to
The Mellon Foundation Lecture and Symposium in Native American Art November 6 – November 7 *All events will take place via Zoom. Join us Friday, November 6 at 6 p.m. for artist, curator, and critic Andrea Carlson’s (Grand Portage Band Ojibwe) presentation on new perspectives in Native American and Indigenous art history. The symposium continues on Saturday, November 7 with presentations scheduled throughout the day. To register or for inquiries, please contact OU School of Visual Arts or Alicia Harris at aliciaharris@ou.edu.
The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo Andrea Carlson, Anti-Retro, 2018, 33.5 x 47.75 inches edition 20, screen print ©Andrea Carlson, Image courtesy of the artist and Highpoint Editions
Meaningful textiles that elevate beauty and treasured culture, inspired by our Southeast heritage.
MahotaTextiles.com | 309 W. Muskogee Ave Sulphur, OK | info@mahotatextiles.com
issue no. 28, fall 2020
FEATURES Paragons of the Virtual: 2020 SWAIA Virtual Indian Market Winners By RoseMary Diaz (Santa Clara Pueblo)
DEPARTMENTS 16
Prairie Dog Glass: The Rise of 22 Southwest Native Glass Art By Cathy Short (Citizen Potawatomi) BACA 2020—Contemporary 30 Native Art Biennial/Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone, Fifth Edition: Honoring Kinship By Lori Beavis, PhD (Michi Saagiig Anishinaabe) Ancient Teotihuacán: A Painted City By Cynthia A. Conides, PhD
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Bill Glass Jr.: Cherokee Nation Ceramic Artist & Sculptor By Candice Byrd (Osage/ Quapaw/Cherokee Nation)
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Jean LaMarr: Northern Paiute/Pit River Printmaker & Mixed-Media Artist By Jean Merz-Edwards
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Shelley Niro: Mohawk Photographer & Filmmaker By Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD
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Virgil Ortiz: Cochiti Ceramic Sculptor & Fashion Designer By Neebinnaukzhik Southall (Rama Chippewa)
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Seven Directions: Brittany Britton (Hupa)
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Collections: Krannert Art Museum By Andrea L. Ferber, PhD
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Native Sounds 84 By Thollem Art+Literature: 86 Beth Piatote (Colville Nez Perce) By Tiffany Midge (Standing Rock Lakota) Artwork by Mikailah Thompson (Nez Perce)
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ARTIST PROFILES
Recent Developments
REVIEWS
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Exhibition Review
72
Exhibition Report
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Book Reviews
IN MEMORIAM Joan Hill (Muscogee/Cherokee, 1930–2020) By Daniel McCoy Jr. (Muscogee/Potawatomi)
Nakotah LaRance (Hopi/ 92 Assiniboine/Tewa/Navajo, 1989–2020) By RoseMary Diaz (Santa Clara Pueblo) 56
Model: Leslie Elkins (Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo).
Ben Davidson (Haida, 1976–2020) 93 By America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) Sadie Marks (Hopi, 1948–2020) 94 By Jennifer Juan (Tohono O'odham) and America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) Molly Neptune Parker 95 (Passamaquoddy, 1939–2020) By Frances Soctomah (Passamaquoddy)
cover Tahu, Leader of the Blind Archers, receives incoming messages from Translator of the location of the Survivorships; she signals the Aeronauts to aid in rounding up the surviving Puebloans for transport to an undisclosed location.
Costume design and photo: Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo).
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Juanita Pahdopony-Mithlo (Comanche, 1947–2020) By heather ahtone, PhD (Choctaw/Chickasaw)
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issue no. 28, fall 2020 Artist-in-Residence Program | Fine Print Studio & Gallery | Non-Profit
ISSN 2333-5548 (Print) • ISSN 2333-5556 (Online) Publishing Editor: America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) Literary Editor: Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD (Euro-Canadian) Marketing Director: Barbara Harjo (Cherokee descent) Copy Editors: Rosa Cays (Chicana), Jo Ann Reece Proofreaders: Staci Golar, Travis D. Day, Jo Ann Reece, and Angela C. Villa (Chicana) Layout & Design: America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) Social Media: Staci Golar, Michelle J. Lanteri, America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), MaryAnn Parker (Kiowa), Jackie Sevier (Northern Arapaho), and Neebinnaukzhik Southall (Rama Chippewa)
Regional Representatives Great Basin: Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute/Modoc) Great Plains: Jackie Sevier (Northern Arapaho) Northeast: Kelly Church (Odawa/Ojibwe/Potawatomi) Northwest: Miranda Belarde-Lewis, PhD (Zuni/Tlingit) Southeast: Michole Eldred (Catawba/Eastern Cherokee) Southwest: Holly Coonsis (Zuni) and RoseMary Diaz (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Editorial Advisory Board heather ahtone, PhD (Choctaw/Chickasaw) Roy Boney Jr. (Cherokee Nation) James T. Bialac, JD Cliff Fragua (Jemez Pueblo) Teri Greeves (Kiowa) Emily Haozous, PhD, RN (Chiricahua Fort Sill Apache) Linda Lomahaftewa, Hon. DHum (Hopi/Choctaw) Jami Powell, PhD (Osage Nation) Mary Jo Watson, PhD (Seminole) India Rael Young, PhD
Advertising Representative Barbara Harjo (Cherokee descent), barbara@firstamericanartmagazine.com International distribution is by Disticor Magazine Distribution Services. First American Art Magazine, LLC, is not responsible for the content of any article or for the statements of any advertiser. First American Art Magazine welcomes queries about editorial submissions. The magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or artwork. Copyright ©2020–21 by First American Art Magazine, LLC. Cover and contents are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or part by any method without written permission, except those specific images listed with Creative Commons licenses. Any errors or omissions will be corrected in subsequent editions. First American Art Magazine® is registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
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R AV E N C H ACO N For Zitkála Šá Series (For Carmina Escobar) For Zitkála Šá Series (For Laura Ortman) Each composition in the Zitkála Šá Series is dedicated to an Indigenous female musician. Two images from a series of thirteen hand-printed lithographs, editions of 20 11 x 8.5 inches each, published at crow’s Shadow Press.
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EDITOR'S GREETING
T
HIS MONOTYPE PRINT by Juanita Pahdopony-Mithlo (Comanche, 1947–2020) hangs in the First American Art Magazine office, as a reminder of why this publication exists. We need to mark our times and share our knowledge. Juanita, who walked on this summer, did both. I met Juanita in the 1990s when she was teaching at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha. My father hoped she would be able to take over the American Indian studies program there when he retired, but the school had other ideas. Instead, Juanita served her own community as the dean and interim president of the Comanche Nation College. heather ahtone shares more of Juanita’s incredible accomplishments in her memorial piece on page 96. While Juanita was best known for her writing skills and her advocacy for fellow Indigenous authors through the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, I first knew her as a visual artist. heather, Tony Tiger, and I were able to co-curate her artwork in H2OK: Native Response to Water Issues in Oklahoma. I invited her to participate in Savages and Princesses: The Persistence of Native American Stereotypes, which is now a traveling exhibition featuring Juanita’s humorous sendups on a painful subject. Currently on view at the Seminole Nation Museum in Wewoka, Oklahoma, the show will continue traveling coast to coast through 2024. Juanita was a contributing writer to FAAM. Last issue when an emerging Comanche photographer, Ben Norberto III, approached us about publishing his photo essay on the annual Comanche Homecoming, Juanita readily agreed to write the accompanying text and shared her poem “Dirty Dancing in Sultan Park” which was perfect for the piece. She praised Ben for his photography and encouraged him to continue photographing their shared community. Previously she tackled the challenge of critiquing Indigenous exhibitions, such as Enter the Matrix: Indigenous Printmakers
above Juanita Pahdopony-Mithlo (Comanche, 1947–2020), Now is the time to write our own histories…, 1996, monotype on paper, 10½ × 14 in.
with her friend Eva Williams, Chase Kahwinhut Earles: Ancestral Caddo Pottery, and Re-Riding History: From the Southern Plains to the Matanzas Bay. With every project she was involved in, she made new connections and enduring friendships. A consummate storyteller, Juanita often received stories from her dreams, as her husband Henry Mithlo told me. She kept many of us rapt by her accounts of an orphaned calf from the couple’s herd. She bottle-fed Little Red Bull by hand, and Henry says he’s doing fine and still comes when called for chin scratches. Last summer Juanita and I both participated in a contentious meeting. I felt horrible for snapping at her and called her that evening to apologize. She told me she thought nothing of it and just knew I was passionate about the subject. Her kindness, patience, and generosity touched me and served to remind me to emulate her more moving forward. Too often, through a scarcity mentality, the art world or academia encourages people to fight over crumbs. Juanita was one of our leaders who saw the big picture and who freely lifted up her fellow writers, artists, and teachers—knowing that the scarcity of opportunities is an illusion. Juanita showed up. She brought friends with her to meetings, artist talks,
parties, and gatherings of all types, as she naturally strengthened our communities. Fred Fodder, her nephew, said: “Juanita loved writing and the arts. She basically devoted her life to it.” Always generous in sharing her knowledge of Comanche culture and history with her fellow Comanches, Juanita’s writings will live on. A new book of Juanita’s poetry is in the works at That Painted Horse Press, so we have that to look forward to. Yesterday, I visited with Henry Mithlo on the phone while I was walking my dog in a large field. While talking to Henry, I spied a bill, which turned out to be a $100 bill. I asked him if his family had chosen a cause to donate to in Juanita’s memory. Henry said that donations can be made to the Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton, Oklahoma. Juanita had served on that museum’s board. They can be reached at info@discovermgp.org. So, of course, I’m sending them my unexpected windfall. Thank you, Juanita, for your generosity. These are dark times, filled with sorrow and loss. We can take inspiration from Juanita and share our blessings with some of her humor and wisdom, and together we can strive to make these times a little brighter. —America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) FALL 2020 | 7
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS MUSEUMS The METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART in New York hired its first associate curator of Native American art, Patricia Marroquin Norby, PhD (Purépecha/ Chicana). Previously she was the assistant director and senior executive curator at the National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center in New York and the director of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies in Chicago. She earned her doctoral degree in American studies from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and her MFA degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Norby’s hiring marks the first time in the Met’s 150-year history that a fulltime staff member will curate Native American art. The AUTRY MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN WEST in Los Angeles hired Stephen Aron as its new president
and CEO. Aron recently served as a history professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and previously served as the Autry Museum’s founding executive director. Aron earned his doctoral and master’s degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. He replaces W. Richard West Jr. (Southern Cheyenne), who is retiring; however, West will assist the museum in its transition through June 2021. Jonathan Batkin retired as director of the WHEELWRIGHT MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN in Santa Fe in April 2020. In recognition of his 30 years serving as director, the board named him director emeritus. Jean Higgins, who has served as assistant to the director for the past five years, is the museum’s new interim director. Previously Higgins served as executive assistant at Costco Whole and earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Maine, Orono.
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Isleta Pueblo’s new cultural center, YONAN AN CULTURAL COMPLEX in Isleta Village, New Mexico, has hired Cassy Smith as its archivist. Smith and her colleagues in the pueblo’s department of cultural preservation will create “History from the Land,” a multimedia experiential collaboration with Isleta elders and youth. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) has funded a full-time, year-long fellowship at the MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ART (Mia) in Minnesota for 2020 and 2021. The tribe has funded part-time fellowships in the past; however, to help Indigenous curators gain experience, they launched the full-time fellowship this year. The fellow will work with Jill Ahlberg Yohe, Mia’s associate curator of Native American art, to study all aspects of professional curation firsthand.
STEWART INDIAN SCHOOL CULTURAL CENTER AND MUSEUM reopened in Carson City, Nevada, in August, after being closed down due to COVID-19 following their initial opening in January. The museum will showcase the history of the Stewart Indian School (operating from 1890 to 1980), and also celebrate local Native cultures still thriving today. The cultural center will sell Great Basin artworks in the Wa-PaiShone Gallery, operated by the Great Basin Native Artists collective and curated by Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute/Modoc). The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation gave the HEARD MUSEUM in Phoenix, Arizona, a $500,000 grant to build on its fellowship program established in 2017. The expanded program will train and support three nine-month fellowships annually for five years. These fellows can engage with any Native-made works in the museum’s permanent collection and will work with Native artists, museum staff, conservators, and other specialists.
ORGANIZATIONS The CANADA COUNCIL FOR ARTS in Gatineau, Quebec, appointed Jesse Wente (Serpent River Ojibwe) as its new chairperson. Wente, a broadcast journalist and University of Toronto alumnus, is the first Indigenous person to fill this position. The Yale Union donated the Yale Union building and its land in Portland, Oregon, to the NATIVE ARTS AND CULTURES FOUNDATION (NACF). The Yale Union will dissolve its organization in 2021. Currently based in Vancouver, Washington, NACF is a nonprofit that funds Native American, including Native Hawaiian, visual, performing, media, and literary arts throughout the United States. The donated building will become the Center for Native Arts and Cultures, which will be the organization’s new national headquarters.
ART SHOWS The Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, Oklahoma, held its 49th annual, intertribal TRAIL OF TEARS ART SHOW while the museum was closed to the public due to COVID-19. The art was installed, photographed, livestreamed, and recorded for remote public viewing. Jerry Sutton (Cherokee Nation) won the grand prize. Classification winners were James Andrew Smith (Cherokee Nation), painting; Joey Study (Keetoowah Cherokee), sculpture; Lisa Forrest (Cherokee Nation), basketry; Troy Jackson (Cherokee Nation), pottery; Candessa Tehee (Keetoowah Cherokee), jewelry; DeAnn McDaniel (Cherokee Nation), graphics; Norma Howard (Choctaw/Chickasaw), miniatures; Ron Mitchell (Cherokee Nation), Trail of Tears theme; and Joey Study (Keetoowah Cherokee), emerging artists. Jennifer Thiessen (Cherokee Nation) won the grand prize of the annual CHEROKEE HOMECOMING ART SHOW, a juried exhibition open to members of the three Cherokee tribes at the Cherokee Heritage Center. Classification winners, who are
Coe Center Art inspires, energizes, and challenges.
ABOVE Detail of the winged attendant figures. Photo: Marc Davis (CC By 2.0) OPPOSITE Unknown Tiwanaku artists, Gate of the Sun, ca. 500–800 CE, hard-carved andesite. Photo: M. H. Water.
Find hope in the creativity that surrounds us. Experience the Coe Visit us virtually… Being together while being apart. coeartscenter.org
Artist Unknown (Ojibwe), Child’s Leggings, c. 1880. NA1028.
Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts
Coe Center 1590 B Pacheco Street, Santa Fe, NM 87505 info@coeartscenter.org • 505.983.6372
FALL 2020 | 9