Indigenous Art

Indigenous Art refers to the traditional and contemporary art created by the original inhabitants of a region, often reflecting their cultural, spiritual, and social values. This art is deeply tied to the traditions, stories, and practices of Indigenous communities and can include a wide range of mediums, such as:

  • Visual Art: Paintings, drawings, and prints that often use symbolism, traditional motifs, and storytelling.
  • Sculpture and Carving: Includes wood, stone, and bone carvings, often depicting ancestral figures, animals, or mythological beings.
  • Textiles: Traditional weaving, beadwork, and embroidery that hold cultural significance and convey stories or status.
  • Performance Art: Includes dance, music, and theatrical performances that are integral to ceremonies and rituals.
  • Crafts: Pottery, basketry, and other functional art forms that are made using traditional techniques and materials.

Indigenous Art often serves as a means of preserving cultural heritage, expressing identity, and addressing contemporary issues faced by Indigenous peoples. It varies widely among different Indigenous groups, reflecting the diversity of cultures and traditions around the world.

Artist: Jaunei Quick-to-See Smith

Jaunei Quick-to-See Smith is a prominent Native American artist known for her work that explores themes of indigenous identity, cultural heritage, and social issues. Her art often combines traditional Native American motifs with contemporary techniques and materials, creating vibrant, thought-provoking pieces. Smith's work spans various media, including painting, printmaking, and sculpture, and is celebrated for its powerful commentary on the experiences and perspectives of Native American communities.

Art: Waltz, 2002

Art: Six Skys + Clouds, 2019

Artist: Brad Kahlhamer

Brad Kahlhamer is a multimedia artist known for blending spiritual, cosmic, and punk aesthetics in his work. Born in Tucson to Native American parents and raised by a German family in Mesa, Arizona, Kahlhamer’s diverse background influenced his art. After moving to New York in 1982, he spent a decade as a musician and another ten years as a graphic designer while developing his artistic practice. His ledger-like paintings often feature psychedelic scenes with Native motifs.

Kahlhamer recently signed with Garth Greenan Gallery, which had a successful solo presentation of his work at the Armory Show. Upcoming highlights include solo museum shows at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Tucson Museum of Art, as well as a debut solo exhibition with Garth Greenan Gallery.

Artist: Marie Watt

Marie Watt, a Turtle Clan member of the Seneca Nation, creates unique art by incorporating community participation into her process. Inspired by sewing circles, she invites local groups to help stitch together fabric and letter patterns. These collaborative pieces are then assembled and enhanced with paint and tin jingle cones, resulting in large-scale, collective artworks.

Art: Skywalker/Skyscraper

Art: Medicine Crow

Artist: Wendy Red Start

Wendy Red Star, raised on the Apsáalooke (Crow) reservation in Montana, challenges traditional and stereotypical portrayals of Native Americans through her diverse art forms, including photography, sculpture, video, fiber arts, and performance. Her work often humorously and surrealistically reimagines Edward S. Curtis's photographs and other clichéd images, incorporating elements like inflatable figures and dime-store holiday items. Red Star frequently appears in her own work, posing in traditional costume among unconventional props. Her sculptures, featuring headless golden deer and wolves draped in Indian blankets, critique issues like the fur trade and trophy hunting.

Artist: Nicholas Galanin

Tlingit/Unangax̂ artist and musician Nicholas Galanin made a notable impact at Desert X 2021 with his 45-foot-tall installation, "Never Forget," featuring the words “INDIAN LAND” in the Palm Springs desert. This work, referencing the Hollywood sign, aims to raise awareness and funds for the Land Back movement, which seeks to enforce treaties and reclaim land. Besides his visual art, Galanin is a carver and educator who creates traditional canoes and documents the craft online. His diverse practice includes sculpture, video, engraving, and taxidermy. As a musician, his band Ya Tseen released their debut album, Indian Yard, earlier this spring.

Art: Get Comfortable, 2012

Art: Beyond the Horizon

Artist: Jeffrey Gibson

Choctaw/Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson incorporates traditional Indigenous techniques—such as river cane basket weaving, glass beading, birch bark biting, and porcupine quill work—into his paintings and sculptures. His creations include beaded punching bags, woven-like signage, and 12-foot-tall fringe curtains. Currently, his solo show “Infinite Indigenous Queer Love” at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum near Boston celebrates his identity as a queer Indigenous man, featuring new collages, fringe sculptures, and collaborative video pieces.

Artist: Cara Romero

Photographer Cara Romero's striking, glossy images highlight both contemporary and traditional roles within her Chemehuevi tribe, addressing issues of visibility and cultural preservation. Her vibrant photos include scenes of Native people in dynamic settings, such as children in traditional attire in windmill fields and women underwater as a nod to water memory. Romero's work has been featured on billboards for Desert X (2019) and in the Heard Museum’s “Larger Than Memory” (2020), and has appeared on the cover of Native American Art magazine. Recently, she received a $50,000 Radical Imagination Grant from the NDN Collective to create a new series of billboards in Los Angeles showcasing Native artists.

Art: Ty, 2017

Art: Tongvaland, 2019

Artist: Weshoyot Alvitre

Weshoyot Alvitre, of Tongva and Scottish heritage, grew up in Satwiwa, a cultural center founded by her father. This deep connection to Native knowledge and the land has shaped her 15-year career as a graphic novel artist and illustrator. She has contributed to award-winning books on Indigeneity and created political illustrations for various causes, including NODAPL, Puvungna, Mauna Kea, and anti-border wall protests. Currently, her work is featured on a billboard in Los Angeles, declaring “TONGVALAND,” through a grant from Radical Imagination.

Artist: Kent Monkman

Cree artist Kent Monkman often features his alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, in his monumental works. This gender-fluid character represents empowered Indigenous sexuality and challenges Euro-colonial perspectives on history and Indigenous peoples. Miss Chief appears in settings that blend classical imagery with sociopolitical commentary, addressing themes of colonization, sexual identity, and resilience. Monkman's provocative reinterpretations of art history are showcased through painting, video, performance, and installation. His recent works include commissioned paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and site-specific performances at the Royal Ontario Museum and the Denver Art Museum.

Art: Lost Love, 2020

Art: Maria, 2021

Artist: Rose B. Simpson

Santa Clara Pueblo artist Rose B. Simpson, primarily known for her ceramics, creates impactful works across various mediums, including sculpture, fashion, performance, music, installation, and writing. Her 2014 piece, Maria, transformed a 1985 Chevy El Camino with traditional Tewa pottery designs, while 7th Generation (2017) features stacked ceramic heads as totems. Simpson's art seeks to address and heal issues of objectification and detachment in the postmodern era, aiming to function as psychological and cultural tools. She previously played in the band Garbage Pail Kidz and recently received the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for her work.

Artist: Raven Halfmoon

Caddo Nation artist Raven Halfmoon creates large-scale ceramics that blend traditional Native American imagery with graffiti and contemporary elements. Her works feature personal tags, thunderbirds, microaggressive phrases, and corporate logos, juxtaposing historical and modern themes. Influenced by traditional Caddo pottery, Halfmoon aims to honor and advance ancestral techniques. Her recent exhibitions include her first solo show in New York, “Okla Homma to Manahatta” at Ross + Kramer Gallery, and a new series of equine ceramics, “HORSE [Di’i’tamah, Issuba, Lichiile],” at Kouri + Corrao Gallery.

Art: Caddo, 2021

Art: Noohl ‘o le’s, Chuue’hl kee menechok, 2019

Artist: Saif Azzuz

Coming from two cultures that are seemingly worlds apart, Libyan-Yurok painter Saif Azzuz sees his work “as an acknowledgement and reclamation of those spaces.” Recently, Azzuz has focused his attention specifically on his Yurok heritage. Inspired by the California land and wildfires that have alarmingly ravaged the state in recent years, Azzuz takes visual cues from his mother’s work for the Cultural Fire Management Council, a community-based organization that practices the Indigenous tradition of controlled burns that lead to a healthier ecosystem.

Azzuz’s process begins with a story or journaling, then light sketching. From there, he often places invasive species directly onto the canvas, then paints back onto the plants using acrylic, natural dyes, and enamel. Through his colorful abstractions that resemble bodies of water, forest floors, and drought maps, Azzuz explores the entangled beauty and wisdom involved in these Native land management practices.