Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2002)
5 i 7i 'Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce" By Cameron Blagg Celebrating Indian Art Voices are traditional and wholly new. By Ron Karten Auctions of Native American art suggest, according to one art critic, "The days of the million-dollar American Indian art object cannot be far away." The National Mu seum of the American Indian, an arm of the Smithsonian, has passed its 10-year anniver sary. The Forest Service has partnered with In dian artists in Arizona's Oak Creek Overlook who sell authentic Indian work to more than half a million visitors to the Grand Canyon every year. These are all among the signs of a growing re spect for Indian art across the country. Regionally, Indian Art Northwest returned to Portland in August this year with Jammin' for Salmon, a festival sponsored by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, representing Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakima Tribes. Oregon entrepreneur, Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr., counts an Indian art collection among his wide-ranging and far-flung pursuits. One source put the value at $4-5 million, but Pamplin Indian art curator Bonnie Kahn would only say, "it is considered one of the top private Native American collections in the country." The collection, housed in a Pamplin museum in Virginia, includes plateau and plains pieces from early 19th Century to contemporary work. "He wants to convey the idea that these cultures are still producing and creating," said Kahn. The collection includes work by Lillian Pitt, who also is associated with Kahn, Pat Gold, a Wasco In dian working in basketry, Maynard Whiteowl Lavadour, associated with Pendleton, Cayuse and Nez Perce Tribes, and Sophie George of Wenatchi-pumWascoCowlitz ancestry, both known for their beadwork. The Portland Art Museum has introduced its latest Native American Exhibit, July 13 De cember 1 "Beyond Beads and Feathers Re cent Work by Six Contemporary Native Ameri can Artists." "In every instance the individuals participat ing in this exhibition are formally trained and articulate artists who happen to be Native American rather than Native Americans who happen to be artists," said Bill Mercer, Curator of Native American Art for the museum. The inspiration for this work ranges from tra ditional Lakota cosmology (Colleen Cutschall) to environmental and Native land rights issues (Laurence Paul Yuxweluptun). Thanks in part to grants from the Grand Ronde Tribe's Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the museum's permanent Native American collection the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Cen ter for Native American Art is home to 3,500 Indian art objects making it the second largest collection area in the museum. Mercer sees two strands of Indian art today: contemporary Indian artists using non-traditional (for Indians) media like painting and bronze sculpture, that are more in the western European tradition. Some are working outside traditional Indian art models, but he said, "the majority still have some heritage in their work, because it is so personal to them." The other strand includes "those who continue to work in traditional modes with beads, bas kets, and pottery but many are quite innova tive while pushing the traditions forward." He named Pat Courtney Gold of Scapoose as an example. She made for the museum a "Wasco style cylinder basket but with images reflective of the 21st Century." In some quarters, discussion continues over the ethics of selling Indian artifacts and such spoils of war as a pair of Indian moccasins cap tured by white soldiers, but Mercer said that in 20 years of studying Indian art, he has never run across a documented instance. Indians with a heritage devastated by years of forced relocation, recognition, termination, and restoration have produced a body of work reflective of the enduring strength of the Indian peoples. From photo-realistic to wildly abstract forms, these artists are giving new voice to the American Indian, and many are as accessible as the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's Annual Pow-wow. Here, Smoke Signals honors a few of these voices working in a range of disciplines from clothing and pottery to film and video, music, painting, design, and sculpture. Enjoy.
