EDITOR ’ S GREETING
above America Meredith . Photo : Kristina James , Shine A Light Photography , Norman , Oklahoma .
ON THIS GREY , OVERCAST WINTER MORNING on the Southern Plains , I ’ m daydreaming of the citrus-scented sunny weekend in Phoenix , Arizona , during the Heard Fair . A friend called about planning a road trip to Texas to see a major exhibition of Maya artwork this spring . The promise of travel , adventures , connections , and engaging with great Indigenous art lifts the dreariness of the day . Better things are to come .
In this issue , authors and artists reflect on the movements and developments within our Indigenous art community that aren ’ t always immediately apparent . We are scattered across vast geographical regions . We are linked by ideas , and concepts that artists manifest whether in visual , literary , media , performing arts , or combinations of these .
While galleries are a cornerstone in the lives of mainstream artists , proportionally far fewer Native artists have gallery representation . However , galleries play an active role in the market for art by Indigenous peoples of the Americas . The more influential galleries participate in major art fairs and provide visibility for 21st-century Native art in an arena where it has often been missing . Because of longstanding taboos against discussing the economics of the art world , the influence of gallerists on museum collections and ultimately art history is often ignored . Author Chadd
Scott checked in with four galleries that represent Native artists to learn about their views on the shifting place of Indigenous art within the broader art world today .
Nadia Jackinsky-Sethi ( Alutiiq ) illustrates Museum Sovereignty , which is Indigenous peoples deciding how their cultures are represented in museum spaces , through the curation of Salmon Culture at the Pratt Museum in Homer , Alaska . Sparked by a poorly worded social media post , this exhibition shows how museums can listen to local communities and open their doors to Indigenous people to the benefit of everyone . The Alaska Native – led curatorial team even invited non-Native community members to curate a sister exhibition Salmon Culture : Kachemak Bay Connections , because representation is not a zero-sum game . Instead we all benefit from being able to honestly tell our own stories , no matter what our political and cultural backgrounds are .
In his introduction to the oldest known surviving duck decoys in the world , found in Lovelock Cave , and their historical and 21st-century counterparts , James G . Bland shows how the flora and fauna of a region have always played a central role in Indigenous art forms . Artists continue to create this utilitarian art form , a hunting decoy , that takes on different conceptual meanings through time and a changing environment in the Great Basin . The tule reed sculptors are a testament to the artists ’ connection to their lands and waterways and ongoing commitment to sustaining cultural connections between humans , animals , plants , earth , and water .
Santee Smith ( Kahnyen ' kehàka ) combines dance , ceramics , and multimedia images , lights , and sound in her art piece , Talking Earth ( 2022 ), which she and her dance troupe , Kaha : wi Dance Theatre , performed at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto . Anya Montiel ( Mestiza / Tohono O ’ odham descent ) discusses the performance and its background and inspiration . Smith ’ s monumental public sculpture Talking Earth pays homage to her parents ’ and paternal grandmother ’ s efforts to revive Haudenosaunee pottery . Her multimedia performance doesn ’ t juxtapose customary and historical art forms against electronic or conceptual art forms but rather shows the possibilities when they are combined into one . Talking Earth speaks to continuum , not categorization .
The clouds have parted , and the sun is shining through the evergreen leaves of the cedar tree in my backyard . An Eastern grey squirrel nibbles on sunflower seeds . A blank basswood panel and acrylic paints beckon . Time to get going , get out , and reconnect .
— America Meredith ( Cherokee Nation )
NO . 37 , WINTER 2023 | 7