Defining of self and the Story we tell others

When we were first assigned this project, I immediately knew I wanted to do something based on the intersection of LGBTQ+ and Indigenous people, because I am Pansexual and wanted to have a good starting point to meet Indigenous culture halfway. The first thing that I found was the common trait between the two groups and especially represented by this selection of artists is how to survive in a doubly oppressive environment. The United States, from the start, is and has always been excellent at ruthlessly breaking people down into factions and advancing the power dynamic of one group over all else. The universal truth that the government has built over the history of the US is oppression for everyone who isn’t a white straight cisgender man which can still be felt to this day as we still fight for equality in the modern era. Indigenous artists have a unique perspective on this fighting back using art of survivance. I wanted to take a look at how that combines with the intrinsic glam associated with LGBTQ+ artists.

This exhibit, titled Defining of Self and the Story We Tell Others examines the interplay of LGBTQ+ and Indigenous experience through visual art in forms of painting, weaving, and sculpture that all ask something of the viewer. Rather than be based on a regional art style, this seeks to find Queer Indigenous artists all around the western half of the US. This is by no means to say there aren’t queer Indigenous artists to the East of the Mississippi, I just know the western portion of the US much better since I have spent most of my life there. This exhibit will also not be addressing tribal sovereignty, rather each individual artist speaks to how they see themselves and what story they tell the outside world. Especially given the circumstances of the current world, I thought it important to highlight these two groups as still actively fighting to exist rather than just fought in past.

 The first section fights for survival by asking the viewer how ideas will be memorialized for the next generation. Hosteen Klah (Navajo), We’wha (Zuni), and Lehuauakea (Kānaka Maoli) all focus on preserving existing practices and traditions for the future, planting a physical piece of art as a living monument of practices so the ones who come next can learn from it. All three are 2spirit, meaning they have a unique position being trained in both male and female traditions and practices where they can make art that is a record of both.

The second section wants to take the viewer a step further to yell that just surviving isn’t enough to change the culture of oppression. Demian Dinéyazhi (Naasht’ézhi Tábąąhá clan of the Zuni and Todích’íí’nii clan of the Navajo) and Jeffery Gibson (Choctaw and Cherokee) take a more active role calling on viewers to change their perspectives and start questioning positions of authority, .

Putting together this project really gave me a new perspective on how broad Indigenous art is. Growing up specifically around Oregon I was already exposed to a little Indigenous art but through this class I got to experience how much change there is region to region based on what materials are available and what techniques have been past down. Moreover, I saw a common theme within these chosen pieces where they don’t directly address tribal sovereignty to focus instead on the individual and cultural survival.