Visualizing History: Contemporary Native American Artists and the Making of

Abstract

History is a constructed body of knowledge about the past, and how it is recorded helps give form to the identity of a culture and its people. But history is also contested ground, defined both by narratives intentionally included and those intentionally forgotten or suppressed. It connects people and events over time, linking past and present, and the manner in which its narratives are constructed and interpreted affects the lives of those in the present. Until recently, historians often marginalized the violence and genocide enacted by the settler-colonial governments of North America, i.e. the United States and Canada, towards North America’s Indigenous peoples. However, efforts have been made to change the writing of North American history. Since the 1990s, contemporary Native American artists have increasingly challenged the construction of history. This dissertation synthesizes the broad contributions of contemporary Native American artists, working through mediums of performance, photography, and installation, as they fashion their own narratives of North American history. I particularly explore how these artists “write” history from Indigenous perspectives and what new knowledge and interpretations their art contributes to the history of North America. By confronting North American history through art, they not only provide new insights into the past, but also simultaneously address and interpret the present. I assert that these artists are creating visual histories, and thus, in a sense, are engaged in a project similar to that of contemporary historians. This research challenges and encourages a rethinking of “the consensual national narrative” by offering a visual counter-narrative to mainstream history, and by asserting Native American cultural authority over history. The work of Indigenous artists warrants a stronger presence in the larger discourse of North American art and history, and my dissertation endeavors to amplify their voices. If we decenter the role of writing in History and consider art as an episteme – a system of learning, storing, and transmitting knowledge – what histories are revealed? Whose stories become visible and whose voices are amplified when the visual is considered as important as the written word?