<
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/12/nicholas-galanin-persistence-of-land-claims/>
"Between 1869 and the 1960s in the U.S., thousands of Indigenous children
attended at least 523 boarding schools, supported by the government and church
groups that were fueled by the grim motto, “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.”
Children were sent hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from their families and
tribal communities, suffering horrific abuse, and in many cases, dying as a
result. Federal agents often abducted minors, who were sent to school and
punished severely if they spoke their Native languages. By 1926, nearly 83
percent of Indigenous school-age children were enrolled.
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition explains that
the purpose of the schools was “expressly intended to implement cultural
genocide through the removal and reprogramming of American Indian and Alaska
Native children to accomplish the systematic destruction of Native cultures and
communities.”
In October, the U.S. government issued a formal apology for its role in the
boarding schools, yet efforts will long continue to fully understand, process,
and begin to heal the trauma.
For Tlingit-Unangax̂ artist Nicholas Galanin, looking to the past is
fundamental to constructing a more nuanced perception of the present. His
multidisciplinary practice “aims to redress the widespread misappropriation of
Indigenous visual culture, the impact of colonialism, as well as collective
amnesia,” says a statement from Peter Blum Gallery, which represents the artist
and is currently showing Galanin’s solo exhibition,
The persistence of Land
claims in a climate of change.
“We can sharpen our vision of the present with cultural knowledge and memory,”
Galanin says. “These works embody cultural memory and practice, reflecting
persistence, sacrifice, violence, refusal, endurance, and resistance.”"
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
