On Native Grounds

ART HAS BEEN an integral aspect of Native American cultures for millennia, so there should be no particular difficulty or paradox involved in the idea of a Native American artist. And yet during the 20th century it was extremely difficult for Native artists to establish themselves in that role and to define what Native American art could and should be in the modern age. Nonetheless, they persevered against the odds, and as a result there now exists a vibrant, innovative Native American art world in which artists are equally free to draw upon their heritage and to define themselves independently of it.

How this