Search

1500-present

Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, State Names, 2000 (Smithsonian American Art Museum) — Native American artist Jaune Quick-To-See Smith offers a history to inform our present

Reading the United “States”

by Dr. Anne Showalter and Dr. Beth Harris

“Native American” is a broad term encompassing many diverse groups.

Geography, chronology and Native American art

by Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank

Nellie Two Bear Gates, Suitcase, 1880-1910, beads, hide, metal, oilcloth, thread (Minneapolis Institute of Art) — This one-of-a-kind suitcase tells the surprising story of an artist, a wedding, and a people.

Lakota life on a beaded suitcase

by Dr. Jill Ahlberg Yohe, Minneapolis Institute of Art and Dr. Beth Harris

Edward S. Curtis, A man wearing a ceremonial mask of the Nunivak style, c. 1929, photograph (Edward S. Curtis Collection, Library of Congress) — The Yup’ik peoples, in one of the world’s coldest climates, made these ceremonial masks during the long winters.

Wearing a force of nature

by Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), 1992, oil paint and mixed media, collage, objects, canvas, 152.4 x 431.8 cm (Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia) © Jaune Quick-to-See Smith — Smith created this in 1992, responding to the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in North America.

Trade myths and native land

by Dr. Suzanne Newman Fricke

Clarissa Rizal, Resilience Robe, 2014 — This prestigious garment follows a traditional design passed down through generations of indigenous Alaskans.

Chilkat past and present

by Lily Hope at Portland Art Museum and Dr. Beth Harris

Wendy Red Star, Crow Peace Delegation — Red Star annotated photographs to restore dignity and context to government-issue photographs of Crow chiefs.

Restoring meaning to Crow chiefs

by Wendy Red Star at Portland Art Museum and Dr. Steven Zucker

Bear Claw Necklace (Pawnee), before 1870, grizzly bear claws and hide, otter pelt, beads, cedar, tobacco and other materials (Denver Art Museum) — Six bears were required to create this necklace, meant to imbue the Pawnee chief with protection and power.

The story of an American massacre

by Dr. John P. Lukavic, Denver Art Museum and Dr. Steven Zucker

Nampeyo (Hopi-Tewa), polychrome jar, c. 1930s, clay and pigment, 13 x 21 cm (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution). — Nampeyo found inspiration from the old to create a pottery style that was entirely new and highly sought after.

Pueblo pottery and tourism

by Dr. David W. Penney, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Steven Zucker