You Are On Indian Land:
A multimedia exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona
On view with regular museum admission
Nov. 21– Feb. 15, 2016
You Are On Indian Land takes a provocative look at contemporary American Indian art and identity, demonstrating how history and heritage can blend with modernity. This exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff offers a powerful new perspective on Native culture, featuring a variety of photographs, sculptures and video installations by leading American Indian artists. Its title was inspired by the 1969-1971 occupation of Alcatraz by Native American activists, who were attempting to reclaim the California island — site of a legendary penitentiary and now managed by the National Park Service — as Native territory. The exhibit itself might be seen as a kind of symbolic reclamation of Native culture, in which indigenous artists confront North America’s contested landscape through a range of nontraditional mediums. These Native American artists are waging an old struggle on a contemporary battleground, combating stereotypes and cultural misappropriation while boldly staking claim to their own identity.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline You are on Indian Land: A provocative look at contemporary art.
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