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westernartgirlKateri Tekakwitha Canonization Confirms a Longstanding Indigenous Tradition
Native American Christians have a special reason to celebrate this holiday season. One among them who lived in the 17th century was canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XVI in October. Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, in life a young Mohawk/Algonquin woman who began Catholic instruction in secret because of her family’s opposition to the teachings, … Read more
Shelby Tisdale Talks American Indian Art
We had a chance recently to chat with Shelby Tisdale, the Autry’s new vice president for curatorial and exhibitions, about what trends and developments she sees in Native American art. Tisdale will talk about American Indian art collecting at this weekend’s American Indian Arts Marketplace, scheduled for November 3 and 4. Before coming to the … 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
The Boss Will See You Now
Marshall McKay, the new chair of the Autry Board of Trustees, was in town recently, and Trading Posts sat down with him for an interview. As the first Native American elected to chair the museum’s board of trustees, McKay, who is the tribal chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation headquartered near Sacramento, has been … Read more
Starring: Native American Actors
Updated June 23, 2011 — Acting is a difficult enough profession. Just ask anybody trying to break into the business here in the home of Hollywood. When you are part of a minority group, it’s even harder. And if your minority status happens to have the title Native American, you have a special set of … Read more
Drumming at the Mall
Shoppers at the Westfield Santa Anita Mall might have been forgiven last Sunday afternoon for raising an eyebrow at the pounding drums that drowned out the usual mall pop Muzak. The Wild Horse Singers and Dancers were in the house. The group, organized in 1989, teaches at-risk urban Native American young people in the Los … Read more
The Marketing of an Ancient Culture
Is it fair game for a person to trade on his/her cultural traditions by selling them as art to outsiders? Does the label “art” ever depend on a person’s ethnicity? Native American artists wrestle with these questions all the time. And they are worth examining as the Autry’s American Indian Arts Marketplace 2010, the largest … Read more
Darrell Dennis Talks About His Labor of Love, Now on Native Voices at the Autry
Darrell Dennis, the First Nations (Shuswap) actor who is the author and star of Native Voices at the Autry’s West Coast premiere of Tales of an Urban Indian, says he has seen a couple of other productions of his semi-autobiographical play. But they always leave him with a weird sensation. “When you live with a … Read more
