ontrak_autumn_2017_new

DURING A RECENT ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
stint at Seattle’s Eighth Generation flagship store
at Pike Place Market, Native American artist Joe
Seymour (Squaxin Island/Pueblo of Acoma) wore
a black T-shirt with large white letters that read,
“Real Indian Artist.”
As part of his presentation weaving together
cultural art and contemporary performance, Seymour
would not speak until a visitor placed a dollar
into a jar.
Louie Gong (Nooksack), founder of Eighth
Generation and himself an artist, said Seymour’s
performance made a bold statement “about Indian
identity and the tendency of mainstream society
to tokenize or commodify ‘Indianness.’” He
said anytime Native people are involved, “we always
have to answer the question—whether people
ask us or not, ‘To what extent do we match up
with people’s expectations?’”
Seymour is one of ten Native artists invited this
year to showcase their art through the company’s
artist-in-residence program, just one of the many
aspects of Eighth Generation’s business practices
that are changing the way people think about Native
art, artists and entrepreneurs.
Eighth Generation’s tagline is “Inspired Natives,
not ‘Native-Inspired,’” reflecting Gong’s goal
of empowering Native artists in the region and
across the country to become successful entrepreneurs
while educating the public about the damaging
aspects of cultural appropriation.
“I think that cultural art is like any natural resource,”
Gong said. “If large companies keep taking
from it and taking from it, they can destroy it
or dilute it beyond all meaning.”
Repeatedly presenting counterfeit Native art,
Gong said, undermines the power of the art form.
“We want people to know that cultural appropriation
affects the bottom line. It’s not just about
hurt feelings.”
The Beginning
In 2006, Gong, who had little art experience,
was tasked with painting drums as gifts for visiting
participants of the annual canoe journey
hosted that year by the Muckleshoot Tribal College
where he worked as an educational resources
coordinator.
A few months later, he doodled his own version
of a traditional Northwest Native design on
a pair of Vans shoes—“Louie-izing” them.
Suddenly, everyone wanted a custom
ontrakmag.com FALL 2017 | 15