TEN YEARS of CELEBRATING ART by INDIGENOUS PEOPLES of the AMERICAS
FırstAmericanArt MAGAZINE
NO. 38, SPRING 2023
DISPLAY UNTIL JULY 3, 2023
TUNICA TREASURE
ORLANDO DUGI
INDIGIPOPX: NATIVE COMIC CON
ANITA FIELDS
OKLAHOMA STATE CAPITOL ART
TOM JONES
FAAM’S FIRST DECADE
ERIN SHAW
Enjoy an enriching, shared experience exploring centuries of Chickasaw history and traditions. The vibrant, vivid, living expression of Chickasaw culture unfolds through a 1700s tribal village, dance demonstrations, traditional gardens and engaging exhibits.
OPEN TUE–SAT 10 AM to 5 P M
L IVE STOM P DANCE DEMONSTRATIONS 11 AM and 2 P M
S u l p h u r, O k l a h o m a | 5 8 0 - 6 2 2-7 1 3 0 | C h i c k a s a w C u l t u r a l C e n t e r. c o m
INDIGENOUS ARTS FESTIVAL BUFFALO THUNDER RESORT & CASINO | SANTA FE, NM
AUGUST 18, 19 & 20, 2023 ARTS MARKET • CREATIVE ENTREPRENUERS FILM • PUEBLO FASHION • FOOD TRUCKS
BuffaloThunderResort.com
PoehCenter.org
HEAR THEIR VOICES For 90 years, the Stewart Indian School operated as a federal boarding school for Native children. Today, the Stewart story is told through the belongings, artwork, and voices of its former students. Explore exhibits, changing galleries, the research library, reflection room, and educational spaces.
10am–5pm | Monday–Friday Closed Weekends, State and Federal Holidays 1 Jacobsen Way, Carson City, Nevada
(775) 687-7608 StewartIndianSchool.com
1 8 T H A N N UAL
CHEROKEE ART MARKET O C TO BE R 14 – 15, 2 02 3
“Ancestral Duplication: Battle for our Language” Troy Jackson
HARD ROCK HOTEL AND CASINO TULSA SEQUOYAH CONVENTION CENTER Experience authentic Native art at one of the largest Native American art shows in Oklahoma. New work by accomplished Native artists from across the country will be on display. Discover and enjoy their exquisite work and add to your collection with beautiful jewelry, pottery, sculptures, paintings, textiles and much more.
cherokeeartmarket.com
issue no. 38, spring 2023
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
Justice, Sovereignty, and Honor: 22 Legacy of the Tunica Treasure A Louisiana tribe’s fight for their ancestors’ possessions lays the groundwork for repatriation policies. By Stacy Pratt, PhD (Mvskoke)
Readers Respond!
10
Recent Developments
14
Seven Directions America Meredith (Cherokee Nation)
18
Art+Lit Oscar Hokeah (Cherokee Nation/Kiowa): Fiction Writer By Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD
84
Collections National Gallery of Canada By Andrea L. Ferber, PhD
88
Calendar By Nicole Emmons (Citizen Potawatomi)
94
IndigiPopX Returns! 28 Native comic-con celebrates intersections of pop culture and Indigenous identity By Stacy Pratt, PhD (Mvskoke), and Shelley Patrick (Mvskoke)
48
State of the Art: 34 Restoration and Reset at the Oklahoma State Capitol Native American artwork in this public arena highlights local Indigenous luminaries, history, and cultures By Paige Willett (Citizen Potawatomi) We Have Words for Art: 42 The First American Art Magazine Story Launching a publication to expand the conversation about ancestral, historical and living arts by Indigenous peoples of the Americas By America Meredith (Cherokee Nation)
54
REVIEWS Exhibition Reviews
72
Report
78
Music Review
80
Theater Review
82
MEMORIALS
ARTIST PROFILES Orlando Dugi: Diné Fashion Design and Beadwork Artist By Chadd Scott
48
Anita Fields: Osage/Muscogee Ceramic & Textile Artist By Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD
54
Tom Jones: Ho-Chunk Photographer By Stacy J. Platt
60
Erin Shaw: Chickasaw/ Choctaw Painter By Michole Eldred (Catawba/ Eastern Cherokee descent)
66
60
66
Tony Jojola (Isleta Pueblo, 1958–2022) By Paul Niemi
92
Rachel Sahmie (Hopi-Tewa, 1956–2022) By Steve Elmore
93
cover Tom Jones (Ho-Chunk), Elizah Leonard, from the Strong Unrelenting Spirits series, 2019, photograph, seed beads, shell beads, abalone, 40 × 40 in. Image courtesy of the artist.
NO. 38, SPRING 2023 | 5
issue no. 38, spring 2023 ISSN 2333-5548 (Print) • ISSN 2333-5556 (Online) Publishing Editor: America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) Literary Editor: Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD (Euro-Canadian) Contributing Editor: Stacy Pratt, PhD (Mvskoke) Advertising Representative: Barbara Harjo Operations Manager: James G. Bland Circulation Manager: Nicole Emmons (Citizen Potawatomi) Copy Editors: Rosa Cays (Chicana) and Jo Ann Reece Proofreaders: Travis D. Day, Staci Golar, Jo Ann Reece, and Angela C. Villa (Chicana) Layout and Design: America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) and Corey Yazzie (Navajo) Social Media: Staci Golar, America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), Jackie Sevier (Northern Arapaho), and Stacy Pratt, PhD (Mvskoke)
Regional Representatives
Great Basin: Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute/Modoc) Great Plains: Jackie Sevier (Northern Arapaho) Northeast: Kelly Church (Gun Lake Pottawatomi/Ottawa/Ojibwe) Northwest: Nadia Jackinsky-Sethi, PhD (Alutiiq) Southeast: Michole Eldred (Catawba/Eastern Cherokee descent) Southwest: Holly Coonsis (Zuni) and RoseMary Diaz (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Advisory Council
EXPERIENCE the
Miranda Belarde-Lewis, PhD (Zuni/Tlingit) Roy Boney Jr. (Cherokee Nation) Emily Haozous, PhD, RN (Chiricahua Fort Sill Apache) Linda Lomahaftewa, Hon. DHum (Hopi/Choctaw) Leah Mata Fragua (Coastal Chumash) Anya Montiel, PhD (Mestiza/Tohono O'odham descent) Denise Neil, PhD (Delaware Tribe/Cherokee Nation) Neebinnaukzhik Southall (Rama Chippewa) Mary Jo Watson, PhD (Seminole Nation) India Rael Young, PhD
Coe Center Advertising Representative
Barbara Harjo, barbara@firstamericanartmagazine.com International distribution by Disticor Magazine Distribution Services
First Friday open houses the first Friday of each month Private tours available Indigenous art from regions around the world In midtown Santa Fe No admission fees
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 ©2023 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 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.
Questions About Subscriptions? For subscription services, changes of address, and wholesale inquiries: email circulation@firstamericanartmagazine.com or visit www.firstamericanartmagazine.com/subscriptions
Contact You can reach us at info@firstamericanartmagazine.com or: FAAM, 3334 W. Main St. #442, Norman, OK 73072
coeartscenter.org
1590 B Pacheco Street, Santa Fe, NM 87505 Email: info@coeartscenter.org | Phone: 505-983-6372
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NO. 38, SPRING 2023 | 7
EDITOR’S GREETING
W
ELCOME to the tenthanniversary issue of First American Art Magazine! So much has changed since April 2013, when this magazine was launched by Native artists who wanted a space to speak freely and honestly about our artwork. We wanted a break from marketing hype and stereotypes and to move beyond “Indian 101,” to instead host serious discussions about Indigenous art in all media from all times but in an accessible manner. We know not everyone has the luxury of attending art school, so we wanted to challenge ourselves: Can we bring the prevailing discourse and latest discoveries about art by Indigenous peoples of the Americas to the public? I strongly believe the answer is yes, especially after compiling data from our readers' survey (see page 10). In this issue, we caught up with the four artists we profiled in FAAM No. 0, Spring 2013, to see how things have changed for them 8 | FIRST AMERICAN ART MAGAZINE
over the last decade. Orlando Dugi (Diné), Anita Fields (Osage/Muscogee), Tom Jones (Ho-Chunk), and Erin Shaw (Chickasaw/Choctaw) took a risk in 2013 by being profiled in an unknown magazine. We’re glad we can revisit them, now that the magazine has international distribution and a loyal readership. To commemorate the past decade, FAAM is sponsoring episodes of 5 Plain Questions, a podcast hosted by Joe Williams (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota) and the Plains Art Museum. Joe will interview Orlando, Anita, Tom, and Erin, as well as FAAM writer and Northern regional representative Nadia Jackinsky-Sethi, PhD (Alutiiq). Joe is such a great host; he gives Native artists and creatives space to share what’s most important to them. We hope you’ll take time to enjoy this more intimate connection with these Indigenous thought leaders. You can access 5 Plain Questions at soundcloud.com/eleven-warrior-arts or wherever you enjoy podcasts.
We are also planning a tenth-anniversary celebration at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe on Saturday, April 29, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, with a roundtable discussion followed by a reception with light refreshments. The Wheelwright has been one of our strongest supporters, and the Case Trading Post was the first retail outlet that made FAAM available to the public. Then on Friday evening, May 5, we’ll host another celebration at the Tulsa Artist Fellowship studios in the arts district of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Details will be available at firstamericanartmagazine. com/tenth-anniversary. This publication would not have survived the last decade without our readers, advertisers, writers, editors, advertising representative, advisors, regional representatives, photographers, contractors, volunteers, and of course, Indigenous artists across the Americas. I am so grateful to each of you for helping make this dream a reality. Here’s to good things ahead in the next ten years! —America Meredith (Cherokee Nation)
ON VIEW THROUGH JANUARY 2024
California Stars/Huivaniūs Pütsiv creates a dialog between iconic and lesser-known works from the Wheelwright Museum’s permanent collection with important loans and new works devised especially for the exhibition. Since the 1970s, the Wheelwright Museum has had an important role in Santa Fe, and beyond, in bringing attention to established and emerging Native artists in solo shows and group exhibitions.
FEATURED ARTISTS Rick Bartow, Frank Day, Jean LaMarr, Frank LaPena, James Luna, Harry Fonseca, Judith Lowry, L. Frank Manriquez, Jacob Meders, Jamie Okuma, Cara Romero, Fritz Scholder, Billy War Soldier Soza, Liz Wallace.
Jacob Meders, b. 1977 (Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria/Maidu) K’awí ć epém májdym (Earth-seeing person), 2022 Serigraph and wood block print, gold leaf on canvas Photography: Ben Calabaza
Wheelwright Museum
OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 704 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe NM 87505 NO. 38, SPRING 2023 | 9