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APPLETON – Dakota Mace, guest curator for the latest exhibit at the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, is hoping visitors leave with a better understanding of the complexity of Indigenous people.
“For so long, our communities have been seen as a monolith and considered static when in reality they’re very active,” said Mace, who is Diné (Navajo).
The exhibit, “Reclaiming Identity,” runs through Jan. 8 and features dozens of works from 25 Indigenous artists from throughout the United States and Mexico.
One example is a piece by artist John Hitchcock, who is Comanche and Kiowa, which features the neon-lighted word “Taibo” over book covers that read “D-Colonize.”
“Decolonizing the mind” is a continuing effort in Indian Country to reverse the effects of assimilation and revitalize traditional cultures.
Taibo is the Comanche word for white person meaning “list-checker.” It stems from the 1800s when whites would imprison Comanche and then take attendance of the inmates each day.
Drawings by artist Jaime Chavez feature Indigenous people in modern clothes wearing traditional Aztec headdresses depicting jaguars or eagles.
“The inspiration behind this exhibit was to be able to invite (the artists) to have a larger conversation about the issues and complexities of blood quantum and to explore identity,” Mace said.
Blood quantum is based on a tribal enrollment policy that the federal government started imposing in the late 19th century in an effort to limit tribal enrollments. It examines the “Indian blood” of one’s parents.
“There’s a broad interpretation of what blood quantum is,” Mace said.
Typically, someone who can prove that one parent is a full-blooded descendent of a specific tribe has at least 50% of the blood quantum. Someone who can show that one parent meets the 50% blood quantum threshold, or that one grandparent is 100%, can be considered 25%.
More:‘It’s about who we are, my heritage, my culture’: Indigenous tribes in Wisconsin grapple with blood quantum dilemma amid declining enrollment
More:When it comes to blood quantum, celebrated Oneida doctor wouldn’t actually be Oneida. Inside the blood quantum dilemma facing First Nations.
The artists featured in the exhibit from tribes within the land now called Wisconsin are Henry Payer (Ho-Chunk), Tom Jones (Ho-Chunk) and Valaria Tatera (Bad River Ojibwe).
Other artists’ tribes include Comanche, Cheyenne, Cherokee, Lakota, Apache and Navajo.
“The idea of blood quantum is the idea of a broader family lineage and (these tribes) have shared histories of colonization and assimilation,” Mace said. “Blood quantum has had a hold as a system of control over Indigenous communities that was imposed by the U.S. government and it’s still being used.”
Tribal nations across the United States are grappling with the issue of blood quantum and who should be considered Indigenous.
Doug Metoxen Kiel, an Oneida Nation citizen and professor of history at Northwestern University, explains that using blood to determine race and tribal affiliation is a European concept that was imposed on Indigenous people but has since become ingrained with tribal identity for many.
By forcing tribal nations to use only blood quantum to determine identity, the U.S. created a system that would eventually shrink tribal enrollments because of intermarriages.
The Oneida Nation, with a reservation just west of Green Bay, requires a blood quantum of 25%, but tribal experts warn that will soon lead to shrinking enrollment.
“Each time an Oneida has a child with a non-Oneida, their blood quantum is halved,” said Keith Doxtator, enrollment director for the Oneida Nation. “Pretty much every generation is at that point of having kids who are no longer enrollable.”
Mace said the exhibit has been receiving “a lot of great feedback” from visitors.
She has master’s degrees in photography and textile design from UW-Madison and is currently a graduate adviser in painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Mace’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at museums and galleries, including at the Wright Art Museum, Kemper Museum of Art and the Wallach Art Gallery.
The Trout Museum of Art is located at 111 College Ave. in Appleton. It’s open Tuesday through Sunday during the day. Admission for non-members is $10.
Frank Vaisvilas is a Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.You can directly support his work with a tax-deductible donation online at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
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