westernartgirl
luckygrrrRepackaging a Delicate Treasure
Sophie Hunter, collections associate for the Autry’s Southwest Museum Project, looks over a worn cardboard box marked “Mojave” to figure out how to unpack it. Inside is a confused mass of tissue, packing peanuts and bubble wrap, and inside that is an ancient-looking ceramic urn with designs painted in red. Hunter knows it is not … Read more
Gaining a Spouse and Losing Visibility
On Thursday morning, Mar. 31, National Public Radio aired a Census-based story about intermarriage among Native Americans: that they are the most likely to marry outside their group, and how that can sometimes jeopardize their legal standing as tribe members. “For the Eastern Shoshone of Wyoming, you have to be at least one-quarter Native American … Read more
“The Frybread Queen”: More Than a Handful of Recipes
In The Frybread Queen, playwright Carolyn Dunn, of Muskogee Creek and Cherokee descent, explores the competition that embeds itself in the relationships among women when there is a man in their midst — even when that man remains only a shared memory. A universal enough topic, but to Jane Lind and Kimberly Norris Guerrero, who … Read more
John Bradley on American Indian Culture: Learn Everything
Updated Mar. 7 — Native American elders and artists often pick one tradition to focus on in their ongoing efforts to preserve and promote their tribal heritage. Learning and mastering that skill usually takes such dedication that it’s difficult to branch out. So these culture bearers dance, say, or do beadwork, or tell stories, or … Read more
East Meets The West as Chinese Painters Embrace a Region and an Idea
Mian Situ and Z. S. Liang came to the United States from mainland China as art students and already successful painters seeking new influences. And although each of these participants in the Autry’s Masters of the American West show has his own style, both feel a singular attraction for Western vistas and people. The two … Read more
The Attack on Ethnic Studies in Education
A new law in Arizona that bans ethnic studies programs in public schools and universities denies young people access to a crucial store of knowledge they need for their future success, says Autry lecturer Paul Apodaca. “It’s a whole library full of new ideas that are not in the classic disciplines,” Apodaca said. “Can we … Read more
Conserving the Perishable Parts of Native American Heritage
When the Autry National Center was created in 2003, staffers immediately began working to conserve the collection of the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, one of its original component institutions. It’s a task they should finish by 2013. Why so long? Well, the threats the collection faces are legion. Age, of course, is an … Read more
A Showcase for Native American Art — by Kids!
In keeping with the Autry’s apparent mission to turn little-used spaces into destinations within the museum, the Overlook Gallery, a covered balcony directly above the Trails West activity area, is now Our West, a space dedicated to showcasing art by Southern California students. Collectors, by the way, are welcome. Right now, Our West is showing … Read more
Formerly “Dead” Space Comes Alive With Navajo Blankets
If you’ve been to the Autry recently, you may have noticed them as you headed to the downstairs galleries: a row of five large Navajo blankets, resplendent in their colors and intricate design, lining one hallway above Heritage Court. They quietly appeared around mid-September, filling a formerly blank wall in an area used only as … Read more
In Conservation Cause, Not Just Shedding a Tear
One of the most memorable commercials in advertising history is a 1971 public service announcement by the Keep America Beautiful campaign in which a Native American — actor Iron Eyes Cody, actually of Italian descent — makes his way through an increasingly polluted landscape. As he reaches the edge of a highway, a passerby throws … Read more
