Native photographer breaking boundaries with new Mia exhibit

CATHY WURZER: A new art exhibition at MIA in Minneapolis is breaking some boundaries. It's the museum's first show featuring photography of exclusively Native people by exclusively Native photographers. In Our Hands, Native Photography 1890 to Now opened Sunday, runs through January 14. Jaida Grey Eagle is a Saint Paul-based documentary and editorial photographer and cocurator of the exhibit. Jill Yohe is MIA's associate director of Native American Art. And Jaida and Jill are both on the line. Glad to have you both here.

JILL YOHE: Thank you.

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Thank you so much for having us.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, I'm excited that you're both here. Jaida, what's the story behind this exhibit?

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Yeah. So in 2019 after graduating from the Institute of American Indian Arts, I came on at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as a curatorial fellow under the Shakopee Mdewakanton Fellowship Program. And Jill, who's on the line, and Casey Riley, we all came together and were interested in talking about having a Native photography show.

And so that was kind of the first, I believe, it-- I started around March, 2020. And then COVID happened, and so these conversations moved to Zoom. And Jill correct me, but I believe it was that October we had our first meeting with our curatorial council.

JILL YOHE: Yes.

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: And yeah, it's been on the go since. [LAUGHS]

CATHY WURZER: Jill.

JILL YOHE: Yeah. I think that Jaida coming was a wonderful experience. Shakopee Mdewakanton Fellowship has been extraordinary offering these opportunities. And Jaida has been thinking about photography for a long time, as Casey Riley, our curator of photography. And we have a great collection of photography at MIA. But we have had little representation of Native photography. And so we thought, let's do an exhibition.

We pitched the show during the beginning of COVID. And we knew what was required to do a show of this breadth and scope was to understand that we need to draw upon the experience of those who have dedicated their lives. So we created a council of 14 curatorial council members from all over, what is now US and Canada. And they helped create this exhibition from the very onset to the culmination of the exhibition that you can come and see now.

CATHY WURZER: Say, let me ask you a little bit about the history of photography of Native Americans. I mean, if I'm thinking back to some of my art classes, it dates back to what the 1850s, some of the earliest photos of Native Americans. And some photographers became quite famous for their depictions of Native Americans. What's your view of the body of work of those photographers? And are they included in this exhibit? Jill, I'll start with you.

JILL YOHE: Those photographers, including Edward Curtis, they've had many exhibitions. And our council decided this is a time for us to see what Native photographers of that contemporaries with people like Edward Curtis, the weight and beauty and power of that kind of photography. We placed this show in the hands of our curatorial council. And we asked the question, what happens when a camera is placed in the hands of Native artists and community members?

CATHY WURZER: So let me get this right. Jaida, there are more than 150 images over more than 100 years in this exhibition. And I was a little surprised to hear that this is the museum's first show featuring exclusively Native photography, right? So what did you make of some of the images that you've seen so far?

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Oh, I think that they're so incredibly inspiring. For myself, as an emerging photographer, to see the work of people who have dedicated their lives to this medium in conversation with people that are my age or even younger in this exhibition, it's so special. And I think it's just-- I mean, I keep saying it over and over again, but it's incredibly inspiring.

CATHY WURZER: Jill, going back to maybe some of the earlier photos in the exhibit that were taken decades and decades ago, at the turn of the century, the 20th century, Native American photographers kind of took the representation of their people into their own hands, right? So is that clear in this exhibit?

JILL YOHE: Absolutely. Some of the photographs that you see are historic photographs show Native photographers beautifully using the medium in different ways and focusing on that which is important for those photographers at the time, family, working with the medium itself, understanding self-representation like Benjamin Haldane who has a great self portrait of him in his studio in the late 19th century. Just an extraordinary glimpse into Native life from Native eyes.

CATHY WURZER: And how different is that versus what many of us saw, as they say in our art classes, with photos taken from, say, predominantly white photographers? Can you explain that to people?

JILL YOHE: I feel when you enter the galleries, you're going to feel something special. You're going to see Native presence, you're going to feel Native presence, you're going to understand Native presence in an entirely different way. You're going to see the ingenuity of Native photographers stretching the medium, indigenizing the medium, staking claim to issues that are important for all people like social justice, environmental justice. And that was created as long as photography has been in the hands of all people.

CATHY WURZER: Jaida, do you want to make a comment on that?

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Yeah. I hope that when people enter that they spend time with it. They spend time with each theme. They spend time with our media. They listen to our guides. Because this was a process created in community for the community. And I think that that's really represented and reflective with not only the work but with the scholarship that was created during this.

CATHY WURZER: Say, Jaida, do you have a favorite photo from the exhibition? I suppose that's really hard, but I'm going to ask you that anyway. I know. I know.

[LAUGHTER]

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: I say something different every time because they are all my favorite. I am stunned by the opening image that we have from Ryan RedCorn, which is from a series that he did called Osage Cooks. And it is of a woman named Selena White and she-- as soon as you come down that main hallway at the MIA, you see her image.

And I believe it's 10 foot tall. And it just takes up space and you just see her. And for myself, I'm just drawn to her. She is wrapped in several blankets, several shawls, and just the color of the portrait is so striking. And yeah, that's probably my favorite image at the-- today. Today, that is my favorite image.

CATHY WURZER: It can always change, and that's OK. Jill, how about you? Just curious.

JILL YOHE: Oh, yeah. I will say, I have favorites like Jaida every single day. I was just giving a gallery talk upstairs and I found a new favorite. But I think the thing that is the most favorite for me is seeing in many times for the first time ever, these works in conversation with each other over decades, over centuries. And something special happens, they're together. And they're bringing life to each other, and they're dialoguing and talking with each other. That's my favorite part.

CATHY WURZER: It sounds beautiful. I'm so glad that you both took time to talk with us about it. Thank you so much.

JILL YOHE: Thank you so much.

JAIDA GREY EAGLE: Thank you for having us.

CATHY WURZER: Jaida Grey Eagle has been with us. Jaida is a Saint Paul-based documentary and editorial photographer. Jill Yohe is MIA's associate curator of Native American art. Both are curators behind the new exhibit In Our Hands, Native photography 1890 to Now, opened Sunday at MIA, runs through January the 14th.