Decentering Durham
Luanne Redeye
Errata
LETTERS TO FAAM
Decentering Durham
I
MET MR . DURHAM in London once many years ago and could not detect anything even vaguely First American in his features , but Chuck Norris and Bill Clinton both claimed to have First American blood . However , there are some people who do not have to prove their First American status to anyone because it stands out Axis Bold as Love .
I am African-Caribbean in origin , but ever since [ I was ] a child , people have always queried whether I have Chinese origins . It ’ s so strange . I grew up in London in the mid- ’ 50s . Ten years after the Second World War , as children we played “ Cowboys ‘ n ’ Indians ” in the streets of London influenced by the scores of cowboy series on TV . It was a very long time later that I realized that “ Indians ” were not bloodthirsty savages whose avowed intent was to scalp and kill all “ palefaces ” and could be killed without any qualms of conscience but peaceful people who respected and loved their environment who were being overwhelmed by a greedy , savage hoard of European migrants .
The same appropriation stunt was pulled on Australian Aboriginal artists in the ’ 90s , and in the USA during the ’ 60s and ’ 70s , many white male fraudsters claiming African origins were given “ White guilt ” funds to set up “ African villages .” Their first act was always to “ marry ” around five to eight young Black women ’ cause that ’ s what African chiefs do , ain ’ t it ? Tam Joseph , Artist London , United Kingdom
Thank you for reminding us that ethnic fraud is not just a problem in the Native community or just in the United States . Today , Indigenous people have a variety of appearances ; there ’ s not one Native look . And then in regards to Indians being peaceful , many tribes take pride in their veterans and warriors . But yes , most Native people don ’ t have to prove their status , because they are acknowledged by their tribes and are actively engaged with their tribal communities . In the 1990s , the United States experienced a tidal wave of “ plastic ” shamans , non-Native people impersonating Indigenous spiritual leaders during the New Age craze . Today , claims by Ward Churchill , Rachel Dolezal , and Jimmie Durham speak to an inability of these European-Americans to come to grips with the legacy of European colonialism . Since June when FAAM published Jimmie Durham ’ s actual birthplace , birth date , and parents ’ names — enabling anyone to research his genealogy — no one has come forward with any facts to substantiate his claims to Cherokee ancestry . The art world should be able to distinguish between an empty , romanticized pantomime of resistance and Indigenous self-representation and self-determination .
— America Meredith
Luanne Redeye
I
WANTED TO WRITE AND THANK everyone involved in the publishing of First American Art Magazine . I ’ ve been a subscriber for a couple of years and really enjoy reading the articles and learning about artists whose work is new to me or reading about new work from artists whose careers I follow .
I am curator of ethnology and ethnography at the New York State Museum , and we have an annual budget ( that doubled this year !) to purchase contemporary art from Native artists affiliated with New York . Last year ( my first year at the museum ), one of our purchases was Luanne Redeye ’ s painting , Ageswe ’ gaiyo , which I learned about thanks to Luanne being featured in your Fall 2015 [ Issue No . 8 ] edition . Gwen Saul , PhD Albany , New York
Thank you , Gwen . Stay in touch with us at the magazine , and we will help you in any way possible . — Mary Jo Watson , PhD ( Seminole ), FAAM Editorial Advisory Board
We welcome your letters to the editor ! If we print your letter , we will send you a free copy of that issue of the magazine . Please email your letters to :
INFO @ FIRSTAMERICANARTMAGAZINE . COM or mail letters to : FIRST AMERICAN ART MAGAZINE Attention : Editor 133 24th Avenue NW # 126 Norman , OK 73069
Errata
We spelled Micheal Two Bulls ’ s given name incorrectly in Andrea L . Ferber ’ s review of Horse Nation of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ in FAAM No . 16 , Fall 2016 , pages 72 and 73 .
Sarah Tamashiro would like to thank Dana Lim and Elizabeth Bushong for assisting with the reporting of her review of art by Indigenous people of the Americas at la Biennale di Venezia in FAAM No . 16 , Fall 2016 , pages 78 and 79 .
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