Future History: Indigenous Narratives in Art and Media

“...everyone only thinks we’re from the past, but then we’re here, but they don’t know we’re still here, so then it’s like we’re in the future.” - Lony in Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

Future History: Indigenous Narratives in Art and Media, Amplify’s next Alternate Currents panel discussion on Friday, June 13th from 12PM - 1PM at the Omaha Public Library’s Downtown Branch brings together artist and educator Paul High Horse, community arts builder John Paul, professor Barbara Robins, and moderator Annika Johnson for a conversation about the methods and materials Native and Indigenous artists and culture bearers use to reinterpret, revise, and re-present dominant historical narratives that often omit or exclude the Native perspective. Together, they’ll discuss creative working practices that interrogate past erasures as a means of reclaiming the present and vivifying Indigenous futures.

Free and open to all, space is limited. Please RSVP to attend.

Metered and service lot parking are available throughout the downtown area. Please use crosswalks for safety and enter through the doors on Jones Street where a member of Amplify’s staff will direct you to Meeting Room 206.

Omaha Public Library’s Downtown Branch is completely ADA accessible. If you have any accessibility needs, please reach out to us at least 48 hours in advance of this event at aW5mbyB8IGFtcGxmaXlhcnRzICEgb3Jn

Alternate Currents programming is presented with support from the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

About the Panelists:

Paul High Horse Paul High Horse is a member of the Sicangu (Sičháŋǧu) Lakota tribe. Son of a Lakota father and Italian mother, Paul was born in New Jersey; however, at the age of three, his parents moved to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota so Paul and his siblings could be immersed in their native culture. He lived on the reservation until he left to attend college at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees. Paul’s artistic philosophy incorporates a modern approach to communicate a rich historical context of the Lakota people. His art captures the symbols, traditions, and values inherent to the Lakota tribe. His work also explores different media including acrylics, archival pens, watercolor, and ledger paper. Paul currently teaches 7-12th grade art at Fort Calhoun Community School in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, but resides in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

John Paul is a mark-maker and a “re-mix” artist who uses the techniques of juxtaposition and layering to create new visual narratives from existing works of art. John is also a community-arts-builder who works with artists and residents to identify and leverage cultural assets to enhance creative-civic engagement.

Barbara Robins, PhD is an Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She holds a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Montana, a MA in English from New Mexico State University, and an PhD in Native American Studies from the University of Oklahoma. Her teaching areas are Native American Literature, Visual, and Performing Arts; Research and Writing in Native American Topics; Veterans Literature; and Medical Humanities. Her research areas are Contemporary Native American Literature, Visual, and Performing Arts; 9/11; Historical Trauma and PTSD; and Indigenous Language Revitalization.

About the Moderator:

Annika K. Johnson, PhD is the Stacy and Bruce Simon Curator of Native American Art at the Joslyn Art Museum where she is developing installations, programming, and research initiatives in collaboration with Indigenous communities. Her research and curatorial projects examine nineteenth-century Native American art and exchange with Euro-Americans, as well as contemporary artistic and activist engagements with the histories and ongoing processes of colonization. Annika received her PhD in art history from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 and grew up in Minnesota, Dakota homelands called Mni Sóta Makoce.

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