Jaida Grey Eagle
Jaida Grey Eagle is an Oglala Lakota artist, born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jaida is a photographer, producer, beadwork artist and writer. Her photography ranges from fine art portraiture to documentation of Indigenous resistance.
Jaida is a B.Yellowtail Collective artist whose beadwork is inspired by her family's usage of color, passed down from a great grandmother’s star-quilt color-philosophy of using six colors or more in every piece. Jaida creates abstractions of her great grandmother's star quilts as fringed earrings with a blending of colors that are significant to her family's legacy as Lakota artists.
Jaida is the co-producer of the Sisters Rising Documentary and is passionate about bringing awareness of Indigenous issues. She holds her Bachelors of Fine Arts emphasizing in Fine Art Photography from the Institute of American Indian Arts.
Sisters Rising
Sisters Rising is the story of six Native American women fighting to restore personal and tribal sovereignty in the face of ongoing colonial violence against indigenous women in the United States.
Sisters Rising is an urgent call to action, a gorgeous portrait of powerful women acting in solidarity, and a demand for tribal sovereignty and self-determination as the necessary step towards ending violence against Native women.
NATIVe Fellowship Recipient
Jada is a NATIVe Fellow, a rare fellowship and lab opportunity for Indigenous feature film producers.The NATIVe Fellows Programme is an international professional-development opportunity for Indigenous producers to attend the European Film Market in Berlin with 1-2 market-ready feature film projects. The NATIVe Fellows programme offers Indigenous producers or producing directors with the opportunity to have their project(s) promoted through the NATIVe Indigenous Cinema Stand and to participate in a curated programme for the producer to make the most of their time at the EFM.
Learn More About Jaida
https://www.jaidagreyeagle.com/about
https://imaginenative.org/efm-2020-fellows
Do’s and Don’ts of Reporting on Indigenous Art
By Jarrette Werk and Jaida Grey Eagle
Indigenous art has been, and continues to be, overlooked and misunderstood by a large portion of today’s mainstream society. Indigenous artwork carries generations of knowledge, cosmologies, history and familial and tribal stories. It is healing to report on it accurately and fairly.
Because Indigenous people account for less than 2% of the United States’ population, proper interpretation in stories is important because we do not have the leverage to address poor portrayals every time.
“Native artists are artists whose work comes from their personal experiences. Therefore, their Indigenous identity is a part of that,” said Dyani White Hawk, Sicangu Lakota, a contemporary artist and curator. "They are also people who are living in this country just as any other artist, and their identities are complex and intersectional. All of those life experiences influence the work that they make.”
White Hawk was one of four panelists for the “Reporting on Indigenous Art” session during the 2019 National Native Media Conference, held at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake Minnesota.
Below is a list of best practices — do’s and don’ts — for journalists of all backgrounds reporting on Indigenous artwork. Whether it’s the central element of the story or a small detail, review these guidelines before you publish.
Do’s
Do use precise tribal identity rather than the general broad term “Native American.” When the use is broad and you are referring to Indigenous people of the entire continent, use “Indigenous,” (like we just did). However, if you’re talking about an individual piece or artist, refer to the specific tribal affiliation. Example: “Haida carving” instead of “Native American carving”
Do your research. Make sure you have an understanding of the artist, the artwork they create and the stories that are behind it. What’s the best way to find out? Ask questions.
Do position Indigenous artwork within the greater art community, not separate. Recently, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, curators Teri Greeves and Jill Ahlberg Yohe curated “Hearts of Our People,” the first major art exhibition of more than 115 Native women artists.
Do recognize that histories are intertwined throughout time and have influenced one another in Indigenous artwork.
Do recognize that Indigenous artists are on par with any other famous artists in the medium, and they should be treated as such. George Morrison (Chippewa), Jack Mallotte (Shoshone), Wendy Red Star (Crow), Dyani White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota), and Geo Neptune (Passamaquoddy) are a handful of Indigneous artists making waves in the art world.
Do recognize the fact Indigenous artists have historically been denied recognition and work to rectify it.
Don’t’s
Don't romanticize Indigenous art by only focusing on art that is stereotypically Indian. Indigenous artists expand all avenues of art. Name any medium and there is an Indigenous artist creating work using that medium.
Don't confine Indigenous art to one’s concept of the past. Indigenous artists are not just painting cowboys and Indians of the Wild West, rather they are creating meaningful and impactful art.
Don't refer to somebody as a descendant of their ancestors, unless they specifically tell you otherwise. Instead, refer to them as a tribal member or citizen When you refer to someone as a descendant of a nation, you are devaluing the validity of their lived experience as a tribal citizen.
Don't call Indigenous artwork “craft.” Indigenous artwork is embedded with knowledge and skills the same way that art is in the mainstream, and it should be viewed and evaluated in the same way.
Don't create a dichotomy of traditional and contemporary. Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota), was a Native artist during much of the 20th century. According to South Dakota State University, “Howe was on the cutting edge of his generation in the exploration of ways to break out of the stereotypes imposed on Indian artists and to seek contemporary ways to communicate Indian values and ideas.” In a letter to the Philbrook Indian Art Jurors, Howe wrote, "Whoever said that my paintings are not in the traditional Indian style has poor knowledge of Indian art indeed. There is much more to Indian Art than pretty, stylized pictures. There was also power and strength and individualism (emotional and intellectual insight) in the old Indian paintings. Every bit in my paintings is a true, studied fact of Indian paintings... Indian Art can compete with any Art in the world, but not as a suppressed Art."
“I would really suggest for journalists to allow Native artists to review what they are working on before publishing,” said White Hawk. “I know that is not a normal practice in the field, but because there is such a huge gap of understanding, I feel like that extra work is done to ensure the stories are done correctly.”
When a piece of art is misconstrued or misunderstood and then a story about it is published, it further perpetuates stereotypes and continues the lack of value in, and recognition of, tribal communities.