In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now is a major exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, spanning 130 years of work by First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Native American photographers. The show celebrates the legacies of past innovators including Richard Throssel (Nehiyawak / Adopted Crow) and Benjamin Haldane (Tsimshian) as well as ground-breaking contemporaries such as Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke) and Cara Romero (Chemehuevi). It is organised into three thematic sections: A World of Relations, showing the ways Native cultures respect the living world; Always Leaders, which recognises their initiative fighting injustice and Always Present, which declares the profound artistic, intellectual, social and political engagement of their communities. These themes arose out of a highly collaborative process involving co-curators Jaida Grey Eagle, Casey Riley and Jill Ahlberg Yohe. They worked in partnership with a 14-member curatorial council that consisted of primarily Native academics, artists and knowledge-sharers. This was to ensure decision-making was firmly grounded in their methodologies, including consensus, relationship building, mutual respect and reciprocity. We interviewed Casey Riley, Chair of Global Contemporary Art and Curator of Photography & New Media, to discuss how the show came out, the need for curatorial visibility and the importance of spaces for reflection in the gallery.
A: Collaboration and knowledge-sharing are at the heart of this exhibition. Could you tell us more about the process of assembling the curatorial and community councils?
CR: This project began in March of 2020, when Jaida had just started as the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Fellow at Mia, and grew out of the conversations she, Jill, and I had together about Native photographers. We subsequently reached out to notable artists and scholars in the field over Zoom to discuss the possibility of collaborating on a larger project. As those conversations progressed it became clear that there was an opportunity to do something important together. We held several day-long curatorial council meetings between fall 2020 and spring 2021 that shaped every aspect of the exhibition and publication, from the works on the checklist to their organization and interpretation in the galleries. In the fall of 2022, we contacted a number of artists, scholars, and leaders in our region to form a community council, and we met with them several times to discuss the design, programs, and outreach for the show. The community council provided crucial insight and feedback on the ways that we would welcome Native visitors to the museum; thanks to them, we have a private reflection space for Native visitors as well as certain traditional medicines (cedar, sage, sweetgrass, and tobacco) and offering baskets within the show, among other things. It was incredible to work with the folks on both councils–we literally could not have done this without them.
A: In Our Hands is three years in the making, with the first curatorial council meeting in October 2020. With so much time and so many contributors working on the project, how did the project take shape?
CR: This project grew organically from those early conversations with council members – there really wasn’t an initial plan beyond consulting with the folks who were best positioned to speak to the issues we were thinking about, and then engaging all of them in a collaborative, consensus-driven project. Obviously, the pandemic had a huge impact upon the course of our planning – when we started talking with folks, nobody understood that we’d be housebound for months or even years. By the time we were applying for funding for the show (the NEH made a very generous grant in the first year), we had language for the scope and aims articulated by the curatorial council.
A: Artist Rosalie Favell (Métis, b. 1958), a member of the curatorial council, described how it’s often the case that “curators are made to be invisible.” This show is different since it provides an overview of the exhibition’s development as well as the names and biographical information of people involved. Why was this approach important for In Our Hands?
CR: Curatorial anonymity can mask the subjectivity of exhibition development, not to mention the interpretation of the work involved. Perspective always matters, but with a show like this one, we needed to be transparent about its origins and inspiration. At a foundational level, it was important to credit all of the contributors to this project from the outset – it would have been dishonest to do otherwise, and would have extended the harm of sidelining Native experts in museum spaces.
A: The three thematic sections of the exhibition are A World of Relations, Always Leaders and Always Present. Why did you choose these themes?
CR: These groupings are distillations of our conversations with the curatorial council members; broadly speaking, they reflect the core themes of our conversations together about the meaning and importance of the works selected for the exhibition.
A: Matika Wilbur’s (Swinomish, Tulalip, b. 1984) portrait Dr. Henrietta Mann (Cheyenne) (2019) shows the subject standing resolutely. Surrounded by sky, her hair almost seems to blend into the wispy clouds above. Could you tell us more about the piece?
CR: Matika Wilbur’s decade-long photographic and storytelling work, Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America, includes portraits of over 562 individuals representing the 562 nationally recognised tribes. Each image is a collaboration between the photographer and the sitter and is a celebration of the vibrancy, diversity, and ongoing presence of Native people and communities in the United States. Wilbur chose an image of matriarch Henrietta Mann, Cheyenne-Arapaho scholar and activist, for the cover of her book. Mann, a leading figure in the establishment of Native American studies programs, has spent her life uplifting and developing Native American education. She was recently awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Biden.
A: The show covers over 100 years, but it is organised thematically as opposed to chronologically. Could you tell us more about this decision?
CR: One of the key themes of our conversations with the curatorial council was the matter of time and how to present the work from an Indigenous perspective. Council members rejected the idea of a linear march through the years, seeing that as both tedious and as a potential reification of the systems that had excluded Native artists and scholars from art history until recently. Throughout the show, we encourage visitors to see the connections in practice across time and place, and to notice the ways in which many contemporary artists honor their ancestors while anticipating – and actively creating – a future informed by Indigenous expertise.
A: Set in the 12,000 square foot Target Gallery, the exhibition includes spaces for visitors to reflect upon the works on view. What kind of experience do you want people to have when they enter the space? How has the layout of the show helped you achieve this?
CR: We set aside these spaces at the recommendation of our community council, who knew it would be important to have specific spaces of welcome, respite, and reflection, given the profound implications of many works on view. Artists in the show grapple with a whole range of difficult issues, including the legacies of Native residential schools, violence against Native women and children, the environmental degradation endemic to colonisation, and more. In the very first gallery of the show, we have a curtained-off space reserved for Native visitors, which has been very positively received both for its privacy and because folks have appreciated having a space to connect with other community members. We also provide certain traditional medicines in this space for folks to bring with them into the show, if they choose, for the offering baskets. The second reflection space is positioned halfway through the show, in the Always Leaders section, and is available to everyone – it’s just a circle of comfy chairs on one side of a long gallery, a good spot for taking a break and gathering your thoughts before going through the second half.
A: Such a comprehensive exhibition of Native photography is long overdue. Why is this exhibition important now? What kind of impact is it having?
CR: I feel a bit shy about answering this question! We all hope that this show offers visitors a way into a field that has long been cultivated and tended by Native scholars and practitioners; in particular, we hope that it is healing and inspiring for all of our Indigenous partners and visitors. Art museums like Mia have been slow to embrace their expertise, and we are grateful to the folks who partnered with us to address those gaps in acknowledgement.
A: What are you curating at the moment? Could you tell us about any projects we can look forward to in the future?
CR: My next project is another collaborative venture, this time with the Gordon Parks Foundation! The exhibition and publication focus on an icon of American visual culture, Park’s portrait of government worker Ella Watson, titled American Gothic. I’m really excited to share this material in the Twin Cities, where Parks had his very first photography exhibition – so, it’s a homecoming of sorts. I can’t wait to welcome visitors to see this series in depth. American Gothic: Gordon Parks and Ella Watson opens at Mia on 6 January 2024.
Minneapolis Institute of Art, In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now | Until 14 January
Words: Diana Bestwish Tetteh and Casey Riley
Image Credits:
- Cara Romero (Chemehuevi, b. 1977), TV Indians (2017). Archival inkjet print. Courtesy of the artist © Cara Romero.
- Nadya Kwandibens, Animakee Wa Zhing #37 First Nation Anishinaabe Tee Lyn Duke (née Copenace) Toronto, ON, March (2010). From Concrete Indians series. Courtesy of Red Works Photography © 2010 Red Works Photography.
- Russel Albert Daniels Diné (Navajo and Ho-Chunk, b. 1974), Blizzard conditions help the DAPL security lights illuminate the Oceti Sakowin camp at the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, December 4 (2016). Courtesy of the artist © Russel Daniels.
- B.A. (Benjamin Alfred) Haldane (Tsimshian, 1874-1941), Benjamin A. Haldane self-portrait in studio in Metlakatla, (c. 1919- 1920). Image courtesy of Ketchikan Museums: Photograph by Benjamin A. Haldane, KM 89.2.14.21
- Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip, b. 1984), Dr. Henrietta Mann (Cheyenne) (2019). Courtesy of the artist.
- Brian Adams (Iñupiaq, b. 1985), Marie Rexford of Kaktovik, Alaska preparing maktak for the villages Thanksgiving Day feast (2015) from I am Inuit series Medium format film – Type C print Courtesy the Artist © Brian Adams.
