The stars and stripes of the American flag are found everywhere today, including on clothing, billboards, and bumper stickers. In the late nineteenth century some Native American artists began to incorporate the flag into their work. Given the United States government’s treatment of Native peoples, the flag may seem an unusual design choice. However, its use carried meaning as a survival strategy, a warrior’s mark of honor, a symbol of protection, or an emblem of resistance.
While use of the flag in Native art is a reminder of the painful history of colonization, displacement, and oppression, it also represents the long tradition of pride in military service. From the realistic to the abstract, images of the flag can be found in traditional art forms and contemporary artistic expressions. Each generation interprets the flag to fit its own narrative as part of an ongoing dialogue about identity, sovereignty, and cultural revitalization
Using the lens of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, this exhibtion explores the impact of climate change and environmental destruction on Native homelands and how artists are sounding the alarm and advocating for action. From the devastation of wildfires and drought to the contamination of ecosystems from uranium mining and other extractive industries, art offers a means to explore human connections to our planet and its precious resources. Traditional Ecological Knowledge, developed and refined over generations, can inform strategies for adaptation to a changing environment and building a sustainable future---but only if we listen. On view in the JoAnn and Bob Balzer Native Market and Contemporary Art Gallery.
Image: Mallery Quetawki (Zuni Pueblo), We Will Continue to Fight, 2019, Courtesy of the artist and the Community Environmental Health Program at UNM-CO
Here, Now and Always centers on the voices, perspectives, and narratives of the Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest.
This groundbreaking exhibition features more than six hundred objects from the museum’s extraordinary collection of ceramics, jewelry, paintings, fashion, and more.
The Museum is located at 710 Camino Lejo off Old Santa Fe Trail on Museum Hill in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| SUN | 10-5 |
| MON | CLOSED |
| TUE | 10-5 |
| WED | 10-5 |
| THU | 10-5 |
| FRI | 10-5 |
| SAT | 10-5 |
From November through April, the museum is closed on Mondays.
| Type | New Mexico Resident* | Non Resident |
|---|---|---|
| Adult |
$7
Free on First Sundays*
|
$12 |
| Seniors 60 & up |
$7
NM residents Free on Wednesdays
|
$12 |
| Students |
$7
|
$12 |
| Kids 16 and under |
Free
|
Free |
| Members |
Free
|
Free |