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Home>Exhibitions>2023>The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans

# The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans 

Past Exhibition

## September 22, 2023 – January 15, 2024East Building, Upper Level, West Bridge

Curated by artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation), this exhibition brings together works by an intergenerational group of nearly 50 living Native artists practicing across the United States. Their powerful expressions reflect the diversity of Native American individual, regional, and cultural identities. At the same time, these works share a worldview informed by thousands of years of reverence, study, and concern for the land. 

Through a variety of practices—including weaving, beadwork, sculpture, painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, performance, and video—these artists visualize Indigenous knowledge of land/ landbase/ landscape. Together, the works in *The Land Carries Our Ancestors* underscore the self-determination, survivance, and right to self-representation of Indigenous peoples. 

Audio guide
Artist voices
Listen to artists talk about their work and experiences as Native Americans.
Listen to the audio guide

## Explore Selected Works

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Steven Yazzie (Diné/Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico/European descent), *Orchestrating a Blooming Desert*, 2003, oil on canvas, Collection of Christy Vezolles. © 2003 Steven J. Yazzie. All rights reserved. Image: courtesy of the Heard Museum, photo by Craig Smith

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), *Indian Canyon,*2019, archival pigment print, Courtesy of the artist. © Cara Romero

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Gerald Clarke Jr. (Cahuilla Band of Indians), *Native American Art*, 2019, charred watercolor paper, Courtesy of the artist

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
G. Peter Jemison (Seneca Nation of Indians, Heron Clan), *Sentinels (Large Yellow)*, 2006, acrylic, oil and collage on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Funds from Sharon Percy Rockefeller and Senator John Davison Rockefeller IV, 2022.22.1. © G. Peter Jemison

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Marie Watt (Seneca Nation of Indians/European descent), *Antipodes*, 2020, vintage Italian beads, industrial felt, and thread, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Funds from Sharon Percy Rockefeller and Senator John Davison Rockefeller IV, 2022.32.1. 

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Emmi Whitehorse (Diné), *Fog Bank*, 2020, mixed media on paper on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, William A. Clark Fund, 2022.41.1. © Emmi Whitehorse

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Chris Pappan (Kanza/Lakota), *Atom Heart Mother (Earth),*2016, mixed media on ledger paper, Courtesy of Travois. © Chris Pappan

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Jim Denomie (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe, Ajijaak Clan), *Edward Curtis, Paparazzi: Chicken Hawks,*2008, oil on canvas, Loan from the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, © Jim Denomie Estate. Photo courtesy of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art 

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Star WallowingBull (Ojibwe/Arapaho), *Modern Day Indian,*2004, lithograph crayon and colored pencil on paper, Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas. © Star WallowingBull. Photo by EG Schempf

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Melissa Cody (Navajo), *World Traveler,*2014, three-ply wool, aniline dyes, wool warp, and six-ply selvedge cords, Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas, Purchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 2014, 2014.1.1. 

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Linda Lomahaftewa (Hopi/Choctaw), *Parrots Prayer Song,*1989, lithograph, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Funds from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, 2023.22.1. © Linda Lomahaftewa

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Rose B. Simpson (Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico), *Tonantzin,*2021, ceramic and steel, leather, brass, Tia Collection, Santa Fe, New Mexico. © Rose B. Simpson. Courtesy of the artist, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco. Photography courtesy Chiaroscuro Contemporary, photo by Addison Doty.

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Demian Demian DinéYazhi' (Diné), *No Place Like Hózhó,*2017, six-color lithograph, Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts, © 2017 Demian DinéYazhi'. Photo by Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Will Wilson (Diné), *Auto-Immune Response no. 2,*2004, archival pigment print (digital carbon) on archival paper, Courtesy of the artist

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations), *Native Host for Washington D.C.,*2022, mylar text on metal sign panel with metal post and floor base, Collection of the artist. © Edgar Heap of Birds. Photo by Shanna Ketchum Heap of Birds

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Preston Singletary (Tlingit), *Raven Steals the Sun,*2017, blown and sand-carved glass, Collection of Jerry Cowdrey. © Preston Singletary. Photo by Russell Johnson

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma/European descent), *Ute's Homelands,*2022, oil on panel in two parts, Courtesy the artist and Hales London and New York. © Kay WalkingStick. Photo by JSP Art Photography

The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans
Natalie Ball (Modoc/Klamath), *Bang bang*, 2019, elk hide, rabbit fur, oil stick, acrylic, charcoal, cotton, and pine, Rubell Museum. ©️ Natalie Ball. Photo courtesy of Rubell Museum. Photo by Chi Lam

## Events

Through January 13
Exhibition Tour
Looking at a range of styles and techniques—including weaving, beadwork, sculpture, painting, printmaking, drawing, and photography—we’ll consider how these artists visualize Indigenous knowledge of land and reflect on our relationship to landscape. 

January 13
Moon Time
**A Table Read**

Join us as for a live table reading from the pilot episode *Moon Time*, a screenplay written by Dr. Elizabeth Rule (Chickasaw Nation) of American University.

## Explore & Share

Story
The Dust on Our Feet: Native Artists and Their Ties to This Land
Shana Bushyhead Condill (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), executive director of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, reflects on her conversations with the artist and *The Land Carries Our Ancestors *curator Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation). 

Story
What Did We Eat Before Colonization?
Chef Loretta Barrett Oden (member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation) recounts her friendship with artist G. Peter Jemison (Seneca Nation of Indians, Heron Clan) and their shared interest in Native American food history. 

 

Video
West to East
Marie Watt, artist and member of the Seneca Nation, takes us into the story of Turtle Island and its connection to her work, family, and Native American history. 

Video
Time Lapse Art
Watch John Hitchcock’s mesmerizing art installation from start to finish.

## Educator Resources (K–12)

Grade Level: K–4
Symbolism and Place: Linda Lomahaftewa
Grade Level: 5–8
Poetry Connections: Emmi Whitehorse
Grade Level: 9–12
Land and Identity: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith

Get the book
Read essays by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, heather ahtone, and Shana Bushyhead Condill along with a poem by Joy Harjo. Illustrations of each work in the exhibition are accompanied by brief biographies of the artists and images of land that inspire them. 
Now available

**Organization**                        Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington                    

**Other venues** New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut, April 19–September 15, 2024

**Sponsors** The Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation has provided major support for the exhibition. 

Additional funding is provided by the Director’s Circle and the Tower Project of the National Gallery of Art.

**Passes** Admission is always free and passes are not required

**Banner detail**: Steven Yazzie (Diné/Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico/European descent), *Orchestrating a Blooming Desert*, 2003, oil on canvas, Collection of Christy Vezolles. © 2003 Steven J. Yazzie. All rights reserved. Image: Courtesy of the Heard Museum, Photo by Craig Smith

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