The 18th- and 19th- century “American Indian Wars” and 21st-century “Global War on Terror” are two of the longest military conflicts in US history. Although rarely considered in relation to one another, these “long wars” are endlessly intertwined through similar military strategy and the persistence of anti-colonial resistance. The residues of these entanglements are visible in the creative responses to these long wars by Indigenous, Black, and South Asian artists, some of whom are veterans.
Surviving the Long Wars: Residues and Rebellions highlights intimate connections across vast differences in time, geography, and medium to propose uncommon alliances that can serve as a foundation for solidarity.
Historic works from the Newberry's Edward E. Ayer Collection including the Black Horse Ledger (Cheyenne), Kiowa Indian ledger drawings, and ink and watercolor drawings by Frederick Gokliz (Apache) are paired with contemporary artworks to reclaim visible yet overlooked strategies of BIPOC survival and resistance. From ledger art and collage to beadwork and portraiture, the featured works record community history, redirect the colonial gaze, and recycle the technologies of US militarism to open up alternative ways of knowing, sensing, and living in the long wars.
FEATURED ARTISTS
- Miridith Campbell (Kiowa)
- Mahwish Chishty
- Gilbert Kills Pretty Enemy III (Hunkpapa Lakota)
- Rodney Ewing
- Darrell Wayne Fair
- Frederick Gokliz (Apache)
- Terran Last Gun (Piikani)
