Week 1- Influencers for all: Fritz Scholder and  T.C. Cannon. Cannon a Kiowa artist,  fought in Vietnam and created art combining his Native culture, with western symbolism, and American styles. His life was cut short but his artistic style would inspire future artists. Scholder is Luisen, a California Mission tribe. Inspired by pop art he deconstructed the mythos of the American Indian. Both men were part of the Institute of American Indian Arts school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a key to influencing later indigenous artists. 

Week 2- Retelling History: David Bradley and Kent Monkman. David Bradley is a Minnesota Chippewa artist who creates paintings and sculptures challenging history. From addressing Wounded Knee and the 1960's Fishing Wars to modern associations with Indigenous culture, David creates vivid paintings that call history into question. Inspired by art history he includes historical figures in scenes of modern New Mexico, animated and cartoony. Whistler's Mother, Surrealist Rene Magritte, and Georgia O'Keeffe all make appearances in his paintings as he makes jests about their originality or place in South Western art history. Kent Monkman is a First Nations Cree artist. Using both painting and performance he rewrites the history of white oppression with vivid imagery that is incredibly detailed. Calling attention to issues of boarding schools, stollen children, and the suppression of two-spirit people his details create a conversation that leads to recognition and change. 

Week 3- Let's Get Physical: James Luna and Jeffery Gibson. James Luna was a Payomkawichum, Ipi, and Mexcian American artist who is remembered best for his installation and performance art. Themes of multiculturalism and colonialism are reoccurring as he built an entire exhibition looking at his life through the eyes of an anthropologist. Artifact Piece (1987/1990) he laid in a display case surrounded by personal effects allowing people to look down on labels pointing out scars and evidence of his very personal history. Take a Picture With A Real Indian (1991-93) likely his best-known performance. He asked visitors in DC to take a photo with a "real Indian" on Columbus Day presenting himself as cardboard cutouts. Gibson is a Mississippi Choctaw-Cherokee painter and sculptor who trained at the Art Institute of Chicago and questioned why Indigenous artists weren't recognized in his art history classes. His military childhood leads him to have many cultural perspectives that reflect in his art. Most well known are his beaded punching bags which combine a common native material and patterns with an American item that represents fighting, dedication, training, and strength. 


Week 4- Women of History: Wendy Red Star, Christi Belcourt, Marie Watt, and Rebecca Belmore. Each of these women has been influential in the field of art, art history, and recognition of Indigenous women. Red Star: uses multiple forms of media to confront the romanticized image of the Native American Woman and the future of Indigenous peoples. Belcourt: a Metis First Nations artist uses paint to recreate floral patterns inspired by the historical bead patterns of her tribe. She learns her own history and calls into question identity, culture, and divisions within communities. Watt a Seneca Nation member works with textiles and in collaboration with different groups to create art that inspires unity and connection. Belmore is an Anishinaabekwe artist known for her politically charged performance pieces where she calls attention to First Nations people who are often voiceless and go missing while police and white officials ignore these facts. She recognizes identity and place as contributing factors and forces the audience to join her in these places as she throws the issues right in their faces.