Counternarratives: Native American Artists In Our Own Words

I grew up reading comic books and most the the heroes that I was really into were mostly men you know like spider-man Batman here stuff like that and there was really no actual woman except for Wonder Woman that I could really you know kind of relate to it all has to do with the strength you know I really wanted to make a character rather out of my mother because I kind of you know I see her as a superhero especially with most of the stuff that she's been through Joleen Yazzie is navajo from Lupton Arizona as a graphic designer her art is powerful it expresses outrage at unjust situations her images reflect women as warriors ready to defend and protect all expressions of her own concern for women everywhere who've been mistreated domestic violence was pretty much a major part when I was going up to my mom used to work for battered Family Services and Gallup and she would go to different schools to talk about domestic violence and to talk about you know date rape and stuff like that especially to like young girls like Jolene klinken artist Tommy Joseph of Sitka Alaska creates art that tells stories art that heals with the help of the children in his community he made a poll for the Sitka Family Justice Center it symbolizes peace the rainbow on the pole the idea for that came from grade school kids we put suggestion boxes in our local grade schools and they were presented as a question what does peace mean to you because that's what this poll was portraying peace and harmony in the home as he carves Tommy often finds himself explaining some basic misconceptions about totem poles misconception that totem poles are God's you worship them there to ward off evil spirits things like that just misinformation stuff that everybody was taught when they were growing up about about totem poles and that's what they were well that's not what they are at all another of his poles honors the memory of a beloved Japanese photographer Michio Hoshino who documented the heart of Alaska's wildlife before a horrible accident took his life retrieve these objects as if there were people and they are when they're all done you know there's treated was respect throughout they are given a name like you would given a person a name I did a poll for a kick Saudi Klan here in Sitka the kicks are the first people that settled here in this area was a memorial for telling a story of their their side of the 1804 battle against the Russians yes I wouldn't had a lot of meaning but they all have meanings our society is so product oriented if you take this much time and you spend that much time in the woods with this many roots this is what you're going to end up with here it is tada and my thinking is don't look at the end it's the journey it's the dirty that's so important this is a reflection of my journey I've been journeying for a long time as Terry Roth car notes the importance of place is a common theme for Native peoples the art often tells of their journey so sometimes art is not meant to be sold but rather created to record the history of the people so like a totem it has symbols to help tell the story and the fault line is that fault line that goes all the way down to California and it runs right by the mouth of Latanya Bay my uncle was in there it wasn't earthquake and that was when there was this huge tsunami that head remember it's a very big bay with a very little opening so like a fishbowl it kind of sloshed back and forth before the water went out to the Pacific Ocean and it took all of the trees and all the vegetation down to bedrock the side borders are that imagery there are events that are of legendary proportion and we have a responsibility to record those things because we are making the history today it was in the South of France working in 1987 and I had these visions of my ancestors calling me back home that I was done out there I'd had my fun my education my fun there was time for me to come back and do something and so I paid a lot of attention to that that vision led governor Rivera to help create the PO Center in Pojoaque New Mexico the center offers classes on making traditional arts pueblos clothing pottery jewelry and more Pole means a traditional pathway which encompasses really a lot of what you do in life and whether you know whether if it's like like I've mentioned before whether if it's business and or cultural things you're thinking about how to give back to your community how to take care of your community how to protect your community and then how to and also how to respect all of that you're involved in Shawn Tafoya teaches pottery and embroidery at the PO Center his garments are worn on important ceremonial occasions in many public communities where they represent prayers for rain goodness and health we ask for everything for everybody so that everybody will be okay everybody will have long lives and it's not just roses for everybody it's for the world Pueblo people have always prayed for everyone around the world so it was no different when terror struck America went on 9/11 happened you know it's just right there I was watching the TV oh my god you know anybody got to keep going you know and so much stuff is happening you know I just felt really bad for all the people that got killed Shawn's tribute to the 9/11 victims is part of the Poe collection reminding folks that we're all Americans day htat us you at a hotel Figgy I was thinking more along the lines of evening dusk you know just at that point where it's starting to get dark and you're starting to see shadows and you can't kind of make out what's ahead of you or around you some of Navajo painter any white horses paintings express the fragility of nature it is about beauty you know I'm not afraid to show that you know because it's a bit one of those things that sometimes artists a boy you know you don't want to have beautiful paintings you want to show eggs you want to show your anger you want to show all this you know Oh fighting with you know this role fighting with the canvas here but it you know that's for I don't know that doesn't that does not appeal to me what I see is beauty in that that's what I see around me and that's what what I hope I know that that people see in the panties I just want people to realize that there's a strength within themselves and it's always going to be there you

Channel: Penn Museum

Views: 23,568

Keywords: Native Americans In The United States (Ethnicity), Artist (Job Title), Puebloan Peoples (Ethnicity), Diné, Tlingit People (Ethnicity)

Id: Y5JiqS_eAME

Length: 8min 17sec (497 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 27 2014