Wendy Red Star, Diplomats of the Crow Nation : 1873 Crow Delegation

First Friday Reception: November 30, 6-8pm

Diplomats of the Crow Nation (1873 Crow Delegation is inspired by and investigates representation of the 1873 Crow Nation Delegation to Washington, D.C. The exhibit consists of reproductions of photographs (taken in D.C. by the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ethnology) annotated by Red Star with notes on cultural detail in red ink scrawled on the portraits asserts each individual’s identity and accomplishments. Although these are portraits of individual chiefs, the photographs reflect the deliberate erasure of Native American culture that served to dehumanize the Crow and other indigenous peoples in the U.S. The use of these images in popular reproductions today continues the practice of outsiders commercializing Indian identity.