Indigenous artists on reclaiming authenticity at the 'Future Imaginaries' exhibition

Transcript

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Amna Nawaz: The Autry Museum’s Future Imaginaries exhibit brings together works from indigenous artists to reimagine science fiction characters and storylines.

In this story from PBS News Student Reporting Labs, two Native artists, Mercedes Dorame and Angelica Trimble-Yanu, met at the museum to discuss their own work and how contemporary Native artists draw upon their culture and connections to envision the future.

Mercedes Dorame, Artist: I worked with the camera a lot, but it was not really until I shifted into using it different ways that I began my art practice. And that shift really was around looking at some of my experience as a Tongva person, my family’s experience, growing up in Los Angeles, what that meant to be in a place that was really trying to erase your ancestral presence.

Angelica Trimble-Yanu, Artist: So I am a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation. I was born and raised in Oakland, California, and I was actually adopted out of the reservation as a child. So I was raised apart from my Lakota family.

Mercedes Dorame: We’re here to talk about this exhibition at the Autry Museum. What I am interested in doing is creating a permanent record of indigenous presence in Los Angeles.

Angelica Trimble-Yanu: I only work in black, white, yellow, and red. It’s a way for me to honor my ancestral’s language through color.

Mercedes Dorame: I always feel like I’m tying back into my ancestral knowledge, practice, and I need that to go forward.

Angelica Trimble-Yanu: There’s been this like resurgence of genuine authenticity, like, within these spaces, and there’s more openness around what Native art can look like and versus what it should look like.

Mercedes Dorame: I don’t know if you have dealt with this, but like this idea of like authenticity and what is authentic and people want you to go into like a past tense place to be authentic.

I hope that people come away from my work curious, wanting to know more, and also understanding that we do have ability to connect.

Angelica Trimble-Yanu: I want us to not be placed always in the past, but really in the present and in the future. And I think, historically, museum institutions have placed us in the past.