Celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day
The second Monday in October has historically been known as Columbus Day, commemorating Christopher Columbus. Beginning around 30 years ago, the day is also known and celebrated as Indigenous Peoples Day in celebration of Native American peoples histories and cultures.
Margaret Tafoya (Santa Clara, 1904–2001), vase, 1962, Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. Collection of National Museum of the American Indian.
Anyone involved in clay arts knows that the history of working in clay goes back further than documented history in this country and around the world. We know from archaeological digs and oral histories that indigenous peoples created ceramics for function, art, and cultural activities.
Many of the Native clay artists we know today are women who chose/choose to work in clay to explore and celebrate the traditions and symbols of their people. Women like “Old Nampeyo of Hano (Hopi), Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso), Lucy Martin Lewis (Acoma), Margaret Tafoya (Santa Clara), Helen Cordero (Cochiti), and Blue Corn (San Ildefonso). Their work is the foundation of the Indian pottery tradition as we know it today,” as written about by the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
The art of Native American women was on view in Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists, a traveling exhibit by the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The exhibition showcased the traditional and contemporary work of Native women artists in fiber, beads, metal, wood, painting, photography, and, of course, ceramics!
Pottery has a rich history that carries through into the art of contemporary clay artists like those carried in the Native American Collections Gallery in Denver.
Mosquito corroboree – ceramic story pot by Thanakupi, 1994
Native and Indigenous artists are not only in the United States of America. Dr. Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher (1937-2011) was well known for using her pots to tell the stories of her Aboriginal people in Australia. Known as Thanakupi the potter, she studied fine arts and brought her traditional practice into the contemporary art scene.
On this Indigenous Peoples Day, October 12, 2020, we invite you to explore these ceramics works and more by Native artists and learn from the culture of our shared histories.
We acknowledge that we are located on lands originally cared for by the Eastern Cherokee and Yuchi peoples. Find out more about land acknowledgement for where you live HERE.
Additional Resources:
Videos and images from the Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists exhibit when it toured at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in early 2020. https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/native-women-artists
“Establishing Meaningful Connections.” by Lauren Kerns. Article from Ceramics Monthly, January 6, 2020 about the Native Americans Collections Gallery owner, Jill Giller. https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/ceramics-monthly/ceramic-art-and-artists/ceramic-artists/establishing-meaningful-connections/#
“Thanakupi - Indigenous Australian ceramic artist” Article about her life and practice with lots of excellent images of her work. https://www.veniceclayartists.com/tag/thancoupie/
Learn more about Indigenous Peoples Day and how you can celebrate it with resources from Smithsonian Magazine