Justice for Hickory ground gains support at Santa Fe Indian Market

Written By: Shayln Proctor

(NEW MEXICO) The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts held the 103rd annual Santa Fe Indian Market from Aug. 16-17. SFIM is one of the largest markets for American Indian Art, and brought over 1,000 Indigenous Artists from different Tribal Nations across the U.S. and Canada to sell and showcase their work. This year the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, for the first time, was a title co-sponsor for SFIM. 

Read this story on Mvskoke Media here.

According to the SWAIA, “Their sponsorship is a statement of solidarity. Together we affirm the importance of sovereignty, cultural authenticity and the essential role Native artists play in carrying our traditions forward. With this partnership, we celebrate not only the beauty of Native art-but the enduring strength of Native Nations.”

Many Mvskoke artists attended the market, including: Randy Kemp (Mvskoke), George Alexander (Mvskoke), Jesse Robbins (Mvskoke), Kenneth Johnson Studio (Mvskoke/Seminole), Faith Harjo Jones (Pawnee/Choctaw/Mvskoke/Cheyenne).  

Mvskoke artist Carly Treece of Tvlse Studios curated the exhibit, “Keepers of the Land,” a collaboration with Sovereign Santa Fe during the SFIM. The exhibit featured contemporary Native American artists from Oklahoma.

MCN Second Chief Del Beaver gave opening remarks and prayer on Aug. 16 and Mvskoke Artist Randy Kemp did an opening flute performance. 

“We are so happy to be a sponsor of SWAIA, but it’s such a good thing to see everybody here this morning because you’re not only investing in art, you are investing in somebody’s livelihood, you are investing in somebody’s God-given talent,” Beaver said during the opening remarks. “This is just a way to help perpetuate the arts and it’s more than just what’s on canvas, more than just a piece of pottery, it’s somebody’s livelihood, it’s a God giving talent, it’s what has been passed down from generation to generation.” 

Sacred Sites and Oce Vpofv 

On Aug 15, SWAIA hosted a Sacred Sites panel featuring Justice for Hickory Ground at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. The event reached full capacity and had an overflow room for viewers to watch the discussion live. Oce Vpofv (Hickory Ground) member Robin “Chub” Soweka gave a traditional Mvskoke welcoming.

The speakers on the panel included Ceremonial Ground Oce Vpofv (Hickory Ground) Mekko George Thompson (Mvskoke), MCN Secretary of Cultural and Humanities RaeLynn Butler (Mvskoke), “Rez Dogs” and “This May Be the Last Time” filmmaker  Sterlin Harjo (Seminole), three-time U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), artist Kenneth Johnson (Mvskoke/Seminole),  and counsel for MCN Mary Kathryn Nagle (Cherokee). The panel was moderated by Supervisory

Special Agent/Division Chief BIA-OJS Cultural Resources Division in NM Franklin “Frank” Chavez II.

When choosing the speakers the MCN Department of Culture and Humanities worked with Hickory Ground and identified artists. “We definitely wanted to have Joy Harjo, because she’s from Hickory Ground, but I automatically thought about Sterlin and Kenneth because of their connection and support,” Butler said. “We decided the rest of the panelists to have Mary Katherin Nagle, the attorney. In case there were some kind of legal questions that came up but definitely wanted to have Mekko Thompson as the main voice for Hickory Ground.”

According to Butler, the panel has received great feedback from museum and collections colleagues in other parts of Southeast. Some have shared their take-aways, including how informative the panel was.

Journey for Justice also had a booth on August 16 and 17. Informative materials on Hickory Ground and a special limited run of 200 t-shirts featuring a design by Johnson were available to promote the cause. 

Over 1,100 signed postcards addressed to Auburn University were signed by visitors at the booth during the two days. The postcards ask the university to return ancestors currently held in the collections. Butler shared that she felt the event was successful and that it received an overall encouraging response and support from the community.  

Throughout Hickory Ground events, including those in the Homelands, Butler sees more outreach for non-native people who don’t have knowledge about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) or sacred land issues. This was different in Santa Fe.

“I think what was really eye opening in Santa Fe was that people already knew about NAGPRA and there were so many Natives who came by the booth and who have a very similar history and story of sacred sites being developed where they had to fight for their ancestors to get them back too. So people were very sympathetic to our situation and cause and wanted to help in any way that they could,” Butler said. 

The SFIM experience, from the panel to the booth, was heartening for Butler and the department. “It’s great to see Southeastern tribes represented. Overall, it was very encouraging and motivating to see the level of support and interest that we got from working in the booth that weekend,” Butler said.  

“It was a very great experience and I am thankful that Hickory Ground and the Muscogee Creek Nation were able to attend and really help promote sacred lands protection.”

Keeping the Momentum

The Department and Hickory Ground have other ideas for booths for the Journey for Justice. Butler is looking to have a booth set up in Norman during the time Auburn University is playing football against the University of Oklahoma this fall. 

“We’re exploring other options of how to keep this going, and to keep the support coming along and where else would a panel like that be successful and just thinking more about that,” Butler said.

For more information on Oce Vpofv and the Journey for Justice, visit https://www.muscogeenation.com/justice-for-hickory-ground. 

To watch the SWAIA SFIM Sacred Sites panel, visit the Justice for Hickory Ground Facebook page.