Indigenous Artistic Collectives as a Radical Place of Resistance (R.I.S.E, Winter Count, Postcommodity i yəhaw)

The United States has 574 federally recognized ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse Indigenous communities. In the 2020 Census, 9.7 million people identified as American Indians (AI) or Alaska Native (AN). Recent years have shown that these communities are exposed to increasing economic, and political threats related to limited access to health care and education. In reaction to the hardships of everyday life more and more Indigenous artistic collectives are emerging, on one hand, building a community, and on the other becoming a radical space of resistance. Their art is combined with activism, aesthetic activities with political acts. Together, the creators have a greater impact and, thanks to relational-artistic, horizontal, non-hierarchical activities, they have the opportunity to introduce real changes to the social fabric. In my paper, I headline how the activities of several Indigenous collectives (R.I.S.E, Winter Count, Postcommodity i yəhaw), and their site-specific art have become both a space of resistance and a place to build Indigenous identity. I refer to Indigenous methodologies (e.g. a methodology based on sounds and spatial structure—CauseLines which is a process based on studying the horizon line and landscape, and building scores and stories based on them) and the theories of Indigenous researchers concerning postcolonialism and decolonization issues. I consider how Indigenous art can become a place of resistance, transformation, and change, but also a healing space. I analyze the connections of the Indigenous body with the land of their ancestors, as well as the violence of artificially created borders and the exploitation of natural resources. I present different decolonized curatorial processes that are trying to fight the present and create another Indigenous future through art.