Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

NITAWAHSIN'NANNI (OUR HOME AND OUR LAND)

Date

2024

Materials

BRISTOL, EARTH PIGMENTS, INK

No. Pieces

1

Length

76.2

Width

55.8

Description

MAP OF NIITSITAPII (BLACKFOOT) TERRITORY, PAINTED AND DRAWN ON BRISTOL PAPER. BACKGROUND COLOURED WITH YELLOW-COLOURED PENCIL CROSS HATCHING. TWO BLUE-PAINTED RIVERS FLOW DOWN FROM TOP OF PAPER; BLACKFOOT WORDS ARE WRITTEN IN BLUE INK THROUGHOUT RIVER. RIVER ON RIGHT HAS FADED SECTION OF RIVER ON LEFT-SIDE. TWO TIPIS’, PAINTED WITH YELLOW EARTH PIGMENT, ARE PRESENT BEHIND RIVERS. BOTTOM OF PAPER, SIX RED MOUNTAIN POINTS WITH CIRCLES ARE PAINTED, WITH SMALLER DETAILED BLUE MOUNTAIN RANGES PRESENT OVERTOP. AT BOTTOM OF PAINTED RIVERS, AND ABOVE RED MOUNTAIN TOPS, SCENES ARE DRAWN REPRESENTING SPECIFIC LOCATIONS ON BLACKFOOT TERRITORY. BACK OF PAPER, WRITTEN IN PEN, “MARJIE CROP EARED WOLF MON. APR. 22. 2024.” WHITE STICKER BESIDES TEXT READS, “10734063.” EDGES ARE ROUGH DUE TO TYPE OF PAPER USED, CORNERS OF PAPER ARE CURVING UPWARDS, MULTI-COLOURED STAINING PRESENT THROUGHOUT BACK. OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

ART

INDIGENOUS

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

NOVEMBER 6, 2023, THE GALT MUSEUM & ARCHIVES AKAISAMITOHKANAO’PA COMMISSIONED ARTIST, PONOKAAKII (ELK WOMAN, MARJIE CROP EARED WOLF), TO CREATE AN ARTWORK DEPICTING THE NIITSITAPI TERRITORY. ACCORDING TO THE ‘LETTER OF AGREEMENT: NIITSITAPI TERRITORIAL MAP,’ “THIS ARTWORK IS INTENDED TO REPLACE A PREVIOUS [WALL-PAINTED MURAL] DAMAGED BY EXTERNAL CONTRACTORS IN APRIL 2023, AND WILL BE DISPLAYED AT FORT WHOOP-UP WITHIN AN EXISTING VIDEO PIECE INTERPRETING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NIITSITAPI TERRITORY...” ON MAY 7, 2024, GALT CURATOR, TYLER STEWART, GALT INDIGENOUS CURATOR, AOTAANAAKII (CAMINA WEASEL MOCCASIN), AND GALT INTERN, TESS MCNAUGHTON INTERVIEWED ARTIST PONOKAAKII (ELK WOMAN, MARJIE CROP EARED WOLF) ABOUT THE GALT-COMMISSIONED ARTWORK TITLED, “NITAWAHSIN’NANNI” (“OUR HOME AND OUR LAND”). THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THAT INTERVIEW. ON WHY THE ARTWORK IS TITLED “NITAWAHSIN’NANNI,” AND WHAT HER ART PRACTICE IS, PONOKAAKII EXPLAINED: “I KNOW THAT I DID RESEARCH ON THE BLACKFOOT WORDS FOR [THE WORK], FOR THE SPELLING BECAUSE THAT’S MY WHOLE PRACTICE NOW; IS LEARNING THE [NIITSITAPI] LANGUAGE AND THE SPELLING. SO ANY TIME I GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY TO DO A NEW WORD, OR A NEW PHRASE… THEN I’LL DO THAT, AND I’LL ADD IT TO MY LIST (BECAUSE I HAVE THIS ONGOING LIST OF WORDS THAT I’M LEARNING); [WORDS AND PHRASES] THAT YOU CAN’T FIND IN THE DICTIONARY, THE BLACKFOOT DICTIONARY. I WANTED [THE TITLE] TO RELATE TO THE [NIITSITAPI] TERRITORY BUT ALSO RELATE TO THE FACT THAT IT’S OUR HOME. AND I WAS KIND OF ASKING [ELDERS], ‘WELL, IS THERE SUCH A WORD? IS THERE SUCH A CONCEPT?’ AND THEY ARE LIKE, ‘OH, YEAH, OF COURSE.’ [NITAWAHSIN’NANNI IS] ACTUALLY KIND OF DUAL; YOU CAN USE THAT WORD DUALLY WHEN YOU’RE SPEAKING. I GUESS IT JUST RELATES TO THE CONCEPT OF WHAT YOU’RE SPEAKING ABOUT… IT CAN EITHER BE USED AS THE LAND ITSELF OR BE USED AS OUR HOME, AND THAT’S BASICALLY THE BLACKFOOT TRANSLATION FOR IT IS...” PONOKAAKII ADDED ON THE NIITSITAPI LANGUAGE USED IN THE WORK: “…CONTINUING ON WITH MY WHOLE IDEA ABOUT LEARNING THE LANGUAGE, IN OTHER MAPS THAT I HAVE MADE, I WAS ABLE TO SIT WITH ELDERS AND GET THE BLACKFOOT SPELLING FOR A LOT OF THE RIVERS THAT ARE WITHIN OUR TERRITORY, AND GAIN SOME OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHY THEY ARE CALLED THAT; SO THAT’S KIND OF WHAT I WANTED TO ALSO RELAY IN THE MAKING OF THIS MAP. SO, I INCLUDED THAT TEXT FOR THE BLACKFOOT WORDS FOR EACH RIVER THAT I WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY WITH MY ELDERS… IN THIS LIFE, I WAS HOPING TO HAVE GAINED MORE TIME WITH THE ELDERS TO GAIN MORE [BLACKFOOT] NAMES [OF THE RIVERS]… SOME OF THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN, BECAUSE THERE WERE TRIBUTARIES, OR LITTLE RIVERS, THAT I HAD DONE IN MY RESEARCH THAT I FOUND, BUT WASN’T ABLE TO FIND THE BLACKFOOT NAME FOR, SO THEN I PULLED [THOSE TRIBUTARIES] OUT, BUT YOU CAN STILL SEE THE SHADOW OF THEM IN THE MAP. I THOUGHT THAT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING. I’M HOPING THAT MAYBE ONE DAY I’LL BE ABLE TO GAIN THAT KNOWLEDGE [OF THE BLACKFOOT NAMES], AND MAYBE REVISIT [THIS WORK]...” WHEN ASKED WHAT MAKES LANGUAGE IMPORTANT TO HER, PONOKAAKII REFLECTED: “I THINK BECAUSE IT CONNECTS ME TO MY FAMILY, AND MY COMMUNITY AND THE LAND, AND I STRIVE TO LEARN MORE OF IT BECAUSE I’M NOT FLUENT. I WISH I WAS. THERE’S SO MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE [FLUENT IN BLACKFOOT], AND I ENVY THEM. I’M NOT A VERY JEALOUS PERSON BUT THAT’S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DO ENVY FOR FLUENT SPEAKERS. I HOPE ONE DAY TO BE ABLE TO GAIN MORE IN MY LEARNING OF THE LANGUAGE, NOT ONLY BLACKFOOT, BUT SECWÉPEMC AS WELL… I THINK EVEN IF I WAS TO BECOME FLUENT AT SOME POINT, I WOULD STILL BE WANTING MORE, WANTING TO LEARN MORE. ‘WHY IS THIS THE WAY IT IS? WHY DO WE CALL THIS THIS?’ WHY? WHY?” ON HOW HER RESEARCH INFLUENCED THE CONCEPT FOR “NITAWAHSIN’NANNI,” PONOKAAKII STATED: “…WHEN I WAS DOING RESEARCH ABOUT MAPS, ESPECIALLY EARLY BLACKFOOT MAPS. THE EARLIEST ONE WE FOUND WAS THE ONE DONE BY PETER FIDLER; THAT HE HAD SAT WITH A CHIEF FROM SIKSIKA (I BELIEVE IT WAS BIG SWAN), AND IN IT HE HAS THE RIVERS ALMOST JUTTING OUT FROM THIS MAIN RIVER (THEY IDENTIFY THAT AS THE MISSOURI [RIVER]… WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT MAP, AND HOW IT’S SITUATED, AND THE TEXT WRITTEN ON IT, THEY ALL CONE ALMOST… OF COURSE ALL THE TEXT IS GOING TO BE WRITTEN FACING YOU, AND THE IMAGERY FACING THIS WAY, WITH NO CONCEPT OF HOW THAT WORKS… ONCE IT IS, PEOPLE WANT TO TURN IT, RIGHT? AND SO, WHEN WE DO THAT AND YOU THINK ABOUT IT AND SPEND SOME TIME WITH IT, AND YOU’RE THINKING, ‘ALRIGHT, YOU’RE TELLING ME THIS STORY, IT RUNS LIKE THAT. WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?’ AND, TO ME, IT LOOKED LIKE THE RIBS OF A TEEPEE… THAT TOTALLY MADE SENSE TO ME, BECAUSE IN BLACKFOOT THE WORD FOR OUR LODGES IS THE SAME, (LIKE I SAID, INTERCHANGEABLE), AS WE USE [THE SAME WORD] FOR OUR HOMES, AND I’VE ALSO HEARD ELDERS RELATE TO IT [AS] YOUR VERY FIRST HOME BEING THE WOMB OF YOUR MOTHER… SO, I WAS LIKE, ‘OK, THAT IN ITSELF WAS LIKE OOH.’ OUR WAY OF THINKING, AND OUR WAY OF LIVING, AND OUR WAY OF BEING IS, IT’S SO ALL-CONNECTED INTO EVERYTHING; INTO THE LANGUAGE, AND THE LANGUAGE JUST BACKS-UP ALL OF THAT…” PONOKAAKII DESCRIBED THE POSITIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE MAP: “…ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I BROUGHT UP TO YOU [TYLER AND CAMINA] IN OUR MEETING WAS I WANTED TO FLIP [THE MAP] BECAUSE WHEN I ORIGINALLY DID THE MURAL ON THE WALL, THIS [CURRENT WORK] IS HOW I WANTED IT TO LOOK. I WANTED IT TO RUN HORIZONTAL BUT, BECAUSE PEOPLE IN CHARGE AT THE TIME WERE LIKE, ‘WELL IT IS THE BLACKFOOT GALLERY, BUT WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, AND HOW IS THAT GOING TO WORK IF YOU FLIP THE WHOLE MAP?’ AND MY IDEA WAS LIKE, ‘WELL, YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT OUR TERRITORY, AND HOW WE PERCEIVE IT, AND HOW I ALWAYS SEE IT IN MY HEAD IS – IT RUNS HORIZONTALLY WITH THE MOUNTAINS AT THE BOTTOM AND THE RIVERS COMING OUT’… BECAUSE WHEN WE SET UP THE TEEPEE, THE DOOR IS ALWAYS FACING EAST SO YOU’RE ALWAYS STANDING FACING EAST… AND YOU [TYLER AND CAMINA] WERE OPEN TO THAT IDEA… SO, I JUST WENT FOR IT…” ON WHAT LOCATIONS ARE BEING DEPICTED IN THE WORK AND WHY, PONOKAAKII EXPLAINED: “…EVEN HOW I DEPICTED THE MOUNTAINS THEMSELVES TIE INTO THAT CONCEPT OF THE TEEPEE DESIGN; HOW THEY’RE PAINTED, AND HOW THEY’RE REPRESENTED. AND THE MOUNTAINS THEMSELVES ARE A MARKER, LIKE A BOUNDARY, A SITE OF SIGNIFICANCE, ESPECIALLY INCLUDING CHIEF MOUNTAIN, AND CROWSNEST. [THE MOUNTAINS] HAVE THEIR OWN HISTORY, REASONS OF THEIR SIGNIFICANCE, AND HOW IT TIES INTO BLACKFOOT CULTURE. IN KEEPING WITH THAT IDEA, I WANTED TO SHOWCASE OTHER AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE WITHIN THE TERRITORY. I DIDN’T WANT TO SHARE TOO MUCH BECAUSE… MY ELDERS ALWAYS TRY TO ADVISE ME, ‘WE DON’T WANT TO OVERSHARE BECAUSE SOMETIMES PEOPLE AREN’T READY, OR RESPECTFUL OF GAINING THAT KNOWLEDGE JUST YET.’ THE PLACES THAT ARE ALREADY WELL-KNOWN, THE PLACES THAT ARE ALREADY RECOGNIZED, THAT’S FINE. SO, THAT’S WHAT I DID HERE. SOME OF THE SPOTS THAT I DID INCLUDE WERE, OBVIOUSLY THE SAND HILLS, WRITING-ON-STONE, SWEET PINE HILLS, OKOTOKS, LETHBRIDGE, AND THEN WHERE WE CURRENTLY RESIDE WITHIN OUR TERRITORY REGARDING THE RESERVES… THE OTHER MAJOR LAKE THAT I INCLUDED WAS OLD LADY LAKE. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT HAD RECENTLY COME TO MY KNOWLEDGE OF ITS IMPORTANCE WITHIN OUR CULTURE. THE WAY, I UNDERSTAND IT, IS THAT IT PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE STORY OF HOW WE GAINED THE SOCIETY FOR KINAATSOMIITAIKSI, SO I WAS PRETTY STOKED ABOUT INCLUDING THAT PIECE” PONOKAAKII COMMENTED: “…I DIDN’T REALLY GIVE A LOT OF THOUGHT TO [THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS] UNTIL IT WAS MANIFESTED IN FRONT OF ME WHEN I WAS SITTING WITH TYLER, AND [WHEN] I DROPPED [THE WORK] OFF, I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE TEEPEE STRUCTURES, AND HOW THESE SITES ARE KIND OF, NESTLED WITHIN THE CENTER OF IT. I DIDN’T INTEND FOR THAT. IT’S JUST NATURALLY HOW IT EXISTS, AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY SOMETHING WITHIN ITSELF…” WHEN CAMINA COMMENTED ON THE CIRCLES IN THE MOUNTAINS, AND HOW THE CIRCLES HAVE DIFFERENT MEANINGS, PONOKAAKII EXPANDED ON THE REASONING IN REFERENCE TO HER WORK: “…I THINK I JUST INCLUDED THEM SO THAT THEY WERE IDENTIFIED AS BLACKFOOT. I DIDN’T TIE ANY HEAVY SIGNIFICANCE INTO THEM, BUT, LIKE YOU [CAMINA] SAID, THERE’S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT REASONS OF HOW THEY’RE REPRESENTED, OR WHY THEY’RE REPRESENTED, OR STORIES BEHIND THEM. MY MAIN PULL FOR THAT WAS, ‘JUST AS LONG AS THEY’RE IDENTIFIED AS BLACKFOOT.’ BECAUSE I KNOW I’VE SEEN THEM BEFORE WHERE THERE’S DOUBLE [CIRCLES] AND I’VE ALSO SEEN THEM WHERE THEY WERE SINGLE [CIRCLES], AND FOR ME, THAT WAS MORE OF A CONCEPTUAL TYPE OF THING. THERE’S ALREADY A LOT HAPPENING AT THAT END [OF THE PAPER] WITH THE REALISTIC IMAGERY OF MOUNTAINS ALONG WITH THE BLACKFOOT, AND IF I DID THE DOUBLE [CIRCLES], IT MIGHT, TO ME… SEEM A LITTLE TOO HEAVY AT THAT END [OF THE WORK]. AND THEN, YOU ALSO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT PEOPLE THAT DON’T IDENTIFY THEM AS BLACKFOOT…” ON THE NUMBER OF MOUNTAINS INCLUDED, PONOKAAKII SHARED: “…SIX IN ITSELF IS SIGNIFICANT TO BLACKFOOT; SIX AND SEVEN… BECAUSE SIX AND SEVEN ARE THIRTEEN, AND THIRTEEN IS SIGNIFICANT, BECAUSE THAT’S HOW MANY MOONS THERE ARE IN BLACKFOOT. THERE’S SEVEN WINTER MOONS, AND SIX SUMMER MOONS... I DIDN’T INITIALLY, MEANINGFULLY, DO IT THAT WAY… IT JUST HAPPENED. [FOR EXAMPLE], WHEN I LOOK AT IT NOW… IT’S OFF-CENTER…” PONOKAAKII ELABORATED ON SHARING ASPECTS OF BLACKFOOT CULTURE, HISTORY, AND UNDERSTANDING: “…LIKE I SAID, YOU SHARE TOO MUCH AND [VIEWERS] AREN’T READY FOR IT, OR THEY’RE NOT ACCEPTING OF IT, OR THEY’RE NOT RESPECTFUL OF IT… THEN [WHEN] I OVERSHARE, AND THEY’RE NOT APPRECIATING ALL THAT I’M BRINGING TO THE TABLE TO SHARE WITH YOU, ITS MEANING AND, WHY I POUR ALL OF THAT OUT… I REALLY STRUGGLE WITH… [BECAUSE] I DO WANT TO SHARE, BUT THERE’S BEEN SO MANY TIMES WHERE IT'S JUST, SO DISRESPECTED, YOU JUST FEEL HURT INSIDE…” ON THE DIFFERENT MATERIALS USED FOR THE WORK, AND HOW SHE CAME TO USE THE SPECIFIC MATERIALS, PONOKAAKII DETAILED: “…I USED EARTH PIGMENT… WHEN I WENT TO ART SCHOOL, YOU LEARN ALL THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MAKING ART. YOU LEARN DRAWING; YOU LEARN PAINTING; YOU LEARN SCULPTURING. WITHIN THAT, THERE’S MATERIALS THAT YOU BECOME FAMILIAR WITH, AND YOU LEARN TO USE THEM, (LIKE ACRYLIC VERSUS OIL). AND THEN YOU HAVE ALL THESE FUNDAMENTALS [OF MAKING ART], THEN YOU JUST PROGRESS [YOUR SKILLS] AS YOU FINISH YOUR DEGREE. BUT, WHEN I TURN AROUND AND I LEAVE THAT INSTITUTION, AND I WANT TO REFAMILIARIZE MYSELF WITH MY TRADITIONAL ARTMAKING AND ART PRACTICES; IT’S KIND OF LIKE, ‘WHERE DO I START?’ BECAUSE IT’S SO VAST, AND IT’S ALL STILL THERE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. THERE’S PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT STILL HAVE THOSE TEACHINGS AND THAT ART FORM AND SO, WITH HELP FROM MY ELDERS, I WAS ABLE TO FIND A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, AND WORK WITH THEM AND BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM AND GET THEM TO MENTOR ME. IN SOME INSTANCES, [I] EVEN GET RIGHTS TO HANDLE SOME OF THESE MATERIALS… IN MY DREAMING OF BUILDING THIS FAMILIARITY WITH THESE MATERIALS, ONE OF THEM IS THE EARTH PIGMENTS. AND SO, I TOOK THAT [DREAM], AND I UTILIZED IT IN THIS PIECE AS WELL. YOU HAVE THE BLUE, AND THE RED, AND THE YELLOW [COLOURING]… BLUE IS THE EARTH PIGMENT ITSELF… (BUT THE WORDS ARE INK)… THEN THE RAILS FOR THE TEEPEE, THOSE ARE THE YELLOW [EARTH PIGMENT], BUT THE [ALL-OVER] YELLOW COLORING ON IT IS PENCIL CRAYON. AND THEN THE RED FROM THE MOUNTAINS ARE THE RED OCHRE EARTH PIGMENT, AS WELL. SO, I WAS ABLE TO UTILIZE ALL THE COLORS THAT I WAS ABLE TO HARVEST AND UTILIZE IN THIS PIECE; SOMETHING THAT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DO IN A LOT OF THE WORK THAT I CREATE NOW. NOT ONLY UTILIZE THAT ASPECT OF [FUNDAMENTALS FROM] MY ART SCHOOL, BUT MY NIITSITAPI PRACTICE AS WELL, IN UTILIZING THOSE MATERIALS IN THAT ART PRACTICE, KIND OF LIKE BRINGING THEM TOGETHER TO CREATE NEW WORK.” PONOKAAKII ADDED ON WHAT TOOLS SHE USED WITH THE EARTH PIGMENTS: “I STARTED WITH MY FINGER, BUT THEN IT’S HARD TO GET INTO ALL THE LITTLE CORNERS... THERE’S NO WAY I WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT WITH MY FINGER, SO IT’S A BACK-AND-FORTH BETWEEN THE BRUSH AND MY FINGER.” WHEN TESS ASKED, WHAT IS HER FAVOURITE PART OF THE ART MAKING PROCESS, PONOKAAKII RESPONDED: “MY FAVORITE PART I’D SAY IS THE CREATING OF IT, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH I HAVE IT IN MY HEAD, I KNOW HOW I WANT IT TO LOOK… (I LEARNED THIS FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE), IT NEVER TURNS OUT HOW YOU WANT IT TO LOOK, AND YOU COULD TEAR YOURSELF APART TRYING TO MEET THAT SAME [VISION]. BUT YOU FIND A LOT OF THE TIME, YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT YOUR OWN ABILITY, YOUR OWN PRACTICE, AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT IT’S GOING TO INSPIRE TO [OTHERS]…” PONOKAAKII COMMENTED ON THE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF ARTWORK AND THE ART MAKING PROCESS: “…I’VE SEEN WORK BY OTHER ARTISTS WHERE THEY WERE LIKE, ‘THIS ISN’T MY BEST PIECE. I DON’T LIKE THIS PIECE,’ TYPE-OF-THING, AND YOU COME ACROSS IT, AND YOU’RE JUST INSPIRED. ‘OH, MY GOD, THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO’… I TRY TO INSTILL THAT IN OTHER YOUNG ARTISTS. ‘YOU CAN’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW WHO IS BEHIND YOU, AND WHAT THEY SEE. YOUR WORK IS AMAZING! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU CAN INSPIRE’…” ON HER FAVOURITE PART OF THE ART MAKING PROCESS AND MATERIALITY, PONOKAAKII REITERATED: “…JUST CREATING IT, SPENDING TIME WITH IT, WORKING WITH IT. ESPECIALLY BECOMING FAMILIAR WITH THE NEW MATERIAL THAT I’M WORKING WITH, THE EARTH PIGMENTS [SPECIFICALLY]. THEY’RE ALWAYS A SURPRISE. IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW WITH THEM. I ALWAYS THINK I KNOW. ‘ALRIGHT, IT’S MY FIFTH/SIXTH PIECE NOW WORKING WITH IT.’ IT’S LIKE, ‘OKAY, I THINK I KIND OF KNOW HOW I CAN MANIPULATE THIS’, AND [THE EARTH PIGMENTS GO], ‘NO, ACTUALLY NO, THAT’S NOT GOING TO WORK’… SO THE JOURNEY, I FIND IS, A LOT OF THE TIME, MY FAVORITE PART ABOUT [MY PROCESS]…” ON ANOTHER ASPECT OF THE ART MAKING PROCESS, PONOKAAKII CONTINUED: “…[THE PROCESS] BEING OVER, YES, THERE’S STILL THAT RELIEF, BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, IT’S LIKE ‘AH, SHIT’… BECAUSE, FOR ME, I GET INTO A ROUTINE. IF I DON’T HAVE A PROJECT, I FEEL LIKE I’M MISSING OUT ON SOMETHING… THE OTHER THING, TOO, IT GETS SO INGRAINED INTO YOUR DAILY HABITUAL EXISTENCE THAT… I CAN LOOK AT ART PIECES NOW, AND I REMEMBER THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING, EITHER AT WORK OR AT HOME. ‘OH, THAT WAS THE TIME WHEN RED CROW HARVEST THEIR BUFFALO, AND I WENT,’ OR ‘THAT WAS THE TIME WHEN MY BABY CONVOCATED FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL. I REMEMBER THAT. I REMEMBER WHEN I MADE THAT PIECE’…” PONOKAAKII REFLECTED ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PIECE FOR HERSELF: “…I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY OF THESE [MAPS] I HAVE MADE, AND I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY MORE [MAPS] I MIGHT MAKE… [BUT] WITH EVERY MAP I MAKE, I FEEL LIKE I’M ALWAYS LEARNING MORE, NOT ONLY ABOUT MY COMMUNITY, AND MYSELF, BUT ALSO THE LANGUAGE, TOO. AND MY ART PRACTICE, GAINING ALL THE TRADITIONAL MATERIALS, JUST MORE, MORE, MORE… [AND] LIKE I SAID BEFORE, THIS IS THE CLOSEST I’VE EVER GOTTEN TO IT [BEING MY VISION], AND I REALLY LIKE IT A LOT. IT IS REALLY HARD FOR ME TO PART WITH THIS ONE! SOMETIMES I’M LIKE, ‘OKAY, I KNOW I’M NOT EVER GOING TO KEEP THIS PIECE. I KNOW IT BELONGS TO SOMEBODY ELSE. THAT DOESN’T MEAN I’M NOT GOING TO TRY HARD ON IT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT’S LIKE ‘OH, JEEZ..’ THIS LOOKS SO NICE IN MY ROOM!’ I’M HAPPY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY [TO CREATE THIS WORK]. I’M GLAD YOU TRUSTED ME.” FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON PONOKAAKII’S (ELK WOMAN, MARJIE CROP EARED WOLF) ARTWORK, “NITAWAHSIN’NANNI” (“OUR HOME AND OUR LAND”), EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20240006000

Acquisition Date

2024-04

Collection

Museum

Less detail