MORE THAN A CENTURY
NATIVE ARTIST PERSPECTIVES ON CITIZENSHIP
AMIAH JOHNSON
(Tlingit and Koyukon Athabascan)
WE STILL GROW
ARTIST STATEMENT
For me, the topic of citizenship is one that carries a lot of weight. Our people have been here since time immemorial, and have only been considered citizens of this country for the last century. Since gaining citizenship, our people have been subjected to many traumas such as residential schools, forced sterilization, and even today our Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirit relatives are still taken and murdered at a much higher rate than others.
The piece I’ve created has beadwork on top of the Indian Citizenship Act passed in 1924 that officially granted citizenship to the Indigenous peoples of the United States. In the center is a red handprint to symbolize and honor our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, girls, and Two Spirit relatives taken from us too soon. Around the handprint are forget-me-not flowers, to honor our children who did not get to return home from residential schools. While this piece was created as a tribute to our relatives who are now ancestors, it was also made to honor those that have survived the atrocities committed against us. Despite the efforts to eradicate and harm our people, we will still grow and blossom from the seeds our ancestors planted within us.
ARTIST BIO
Xóotsk’ Amiah Johnson is a Tlingit and Koyukon Athabascan artist from the Southeast Alaska villages of Yakutat and Angoon. She was raised by her mother Violet Sensmeier and late father Anthony Johnson Jr. and taught traditional art forms by her maternal grandmother Eva Olin Sensmeier. She started her business Little Bear Designs in 2019 while in college and has since used her artistic platform for community fundraising, promoting Indigenous artists and raising awareness on social justice issues. In her art, Amiah uses both traditional and contemporary components to create pieces that embrace modern style while honoring her ancestors’ art forms. Her work is heavily inspired by her homelands and is motivated to create to keep traditions alive and thriving for the generations to come.
MORE THAN A CENTURY
NATIVE ARTIST PERSPECTIVES ON CITIZENSHIP
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