Being A Good Ancestor:
Indigenous Responses to Covid


In their talks, Korina Walters (Choctaw) and Michelle Johnson-Jennings (Choctaw), discuss that in this moment, we are both our great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents’ grandchild and in this moment we are also our great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandchildrens’ grandparent. As they say, this is a powerful place to be. We are both the product of those who came before us and will help to shape the generations that come after us. Our decisions today affect the future.

Those who came before also faced hardships, and the stories of how they lived their lives during those deeply trying times can guide how we may also live in this COVID-19 era. Chickasaw artist Dustin Mater asks the question, “How are you being a good ancestor?” It is this question that we will focus this art show around. How are you being a good ancestor as we go through this era of COVID-19, a continuing Civil Rights Movement, and political strife? What are the things you are thinking about, praying about, and doing and how might they be affecting the generations to come? What stories from the past, from the ancestors, are inspiring your actions today?

— Brit Reed, Curator

PROTECT


 

Indigenously - Alyssa Masaquaptewa - Learn More About the Artist

Past/Presence/Future - Mona Cliff - Learn More About the Artist

For The Love of Native People - Brit Reed - Learn More About the Artist

Abolish Columbus Day - Alyssa Masaquaptewa - Learn More About the Artist

 

Nō Justice, Nō Peace (March for George Floyd) - Lehuauakea - Learn More About the Artist

 

"I started integrating my heritage in my work when I realized that every race and walk of life is represented in art and media, except Indigenous people. We seem to be swept under the rug of representation and I was tired of it."

— Alyssa Masaquaptewa
 

NW Film Forum Mural - Hailey Tayathy - Learn More About the Artist

 

REMEMBER


 

Achik - Adina Farinango - Learn More About the Artist


Three Routes - fabian romero - Learn More About the Artist

En Las Manos de Mi Madre - Eileen Jimenez - Learn More About the Artist

 

Umiak - Sean Gallagher - Learn More About the Artist

Ancestors - Cleopatra Tatabele - Learn More About the Artist

"In my art, you see the visual representation of my soul, and the colors, the culture, the visions and the dreams that live there."

— Eileen Jimenez
Ancestors Show Yourself - Paige Pettibon - Learn More About the Artist

Ancestors Show Yourself - Paige Pettibon - Learn More About the Artist

Seven Dogs - Karen Engel - Learn More About the Artist

 

ShEagle - Keri Wilborn - Learn More About the Artist

 

ShEagle (alternate view) - Keri Wilborn - Learn More About the Artist

 

"As I continue to improve my weaving skills, my wish is to help preserve traditional designs and to honor the women who came before me."

— Karen Engel

Sapi - Adina Farinango - Learn More About the Artist

 

GATHER


 

Sunlight - Sarah Gould - Learn More About the Artist

Melanin Mvskoke - Amber Starks - Learn More About the Artist

 

Future Visions - Carmen Selam - Learn More About the Artist

Tohanash Tarrant - Jeremy Dennis - Learn More About the Artist

Cara de india - Bridgette Romero - Learn More About the Artist

Cara de india - Bridgette Romero - Learn More About the Artist

"I just wanna represent my peoples and my part of the world that are often-times forgotten, through art. People like me have so much going against us and so community and cultural building is vital for us, because it helps us feel safe to exist and enables others to do the same."

— Bridgette Romero

Angela - Michaila Taylor - Learn More About the Artist

We Are The Land - Brit Reed - Learn More About the Artist

 
 

HEAL


 

The River - Joseph OldChief - Learn More About the Artist

Plant the Seeds and Watch it Heal - Richard D. York - Learn More About the Artist

While I am Dreaming The Land is Breathing - Richard D. York - Learn More About the Artist

Untitled - Susan Ringstad Emery - Learn More About the Artist

 

Ap’ - Monique Sonoquie - Learn More About the Artist

"Art is healing. I do not see my work as truly becoming art until another individual engages with it, bringing their personal experience and spirit to bear."

— Richard D. York

Money Shells - Michaila Taylor - Learn More About the Artist

Duality Choked - Black Tom - Learn More About the Artist

 


Interconnected - Kayla Banks - Learn More About the Artist

The Elements Mask - Sean Gallagher - Learn More About the Artist

Nest 2 - Susan Ringstand Emery - Learn More About the Artist

 

GROW


 

Lehuauakea - Mana Mahu - Learn More About the Artist

"This piece was created to honor the spectrums of the earth's colors and the spectrums of gender identity within our Native communities. With ancestral patterns made entirely from the colors of different soils and plants, hand-painted on the traditional bark cloth textile of my people, this work is a celebration of my māhū (non-binary) identity that was only realized through the acknowledgement of my ancestry, community responsibilities, and traditional practices."

— Lehuauakea

Lovebirds (Eagle/Raven) - Margaret Morris - Learn More About the Artist

HoxxoH - Efrain Leal Escalera - Learn More About the Artist


Simetria Alienigena - Efraín Leal Escalera - Learn More About the Artist

Beauty Bandana - Paige Pettibon - Learn More About the Artist

 

Coulee Dam - Kathryn Miller - Learn More About the Artist

 

Last - D’Viek Washington - Learn More About the Artist

Past/Presence/Future - Mona Cliff - Learn More About the Artist

Seagrass Bag - Monique Sonoquie - Learn More About the Artist


Survivance - Hailey Tayathy - Learn More About the Artist

The online exhibitions Being a Good Ancestor and Telling Our Own Stories were curated by Brit Reed (Choctaw/Black) in 2020-2021, in collaboration with a community advisory panel, as part of yəhaw̓’s Covid-relief and Black Lives Matter solidarity programming. The artists featured are all ages, work in many materials, and are based in cities across the US. Exhibition design and data upload support has been provided by Bella and Belle Creative Consultants, as well as Michael Anderson and Moe'Neyah Holland of Teens in Tacoma.

yəhaw̓ encourages all Indigenous artists to post and share their own work in conjunction with the exhibitions through the following tags on social media: #afroindigenousstories #beingagoodancestor #yehawshow @yehawshow.