Dreaming Our Futures: Ojibwe and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Artists and Knowledge Keepers

The Katherine E. Nash Gallery hosts a group exhibition of 29 Indigenous painters, the inaugural program of the George Morrison Center for Indigenous Arts.
Wall sculpture of five fanned out skateboard decks painted with geometric and floral abstract designs.
Bobby Dues Wilson, Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota, Synthetic by Nature, 2012, Acrylic on skateboard decks, 40¼ × 51½ in. (102.2 × 130.8 cm). Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society, AV2013.7. © Bobby Dues Wilson.
A women with her hands held in front of her body stands beside a vertical floral design as additional patterns overlay the earth and sky behind her.
Kathleen Wall, Jemez Pueblo, White Earth Anishinaabe, Seneca, Nexus of Culture: Ever-Changing Blossom, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 48 × 36 in. (121.9 × 91.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist. © Kathleen Wall.
Abstract geometric composition of long diamond shapes with diagonal mark-marking meant to mimic bead work.
Dyani White Hawk, Sičaŋǧu Lakota, Untitled (Quiet Strength III), 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 84¼ × 60⅛ in. (214 × 152.7 cm). Collection Tweed Museum of Art, Marguerite L. Gilmore Charitable Foundation Fund, D2018.19. © Dyani White Hawk.
Symmetrical, horizontal floral composition meant to mimic bead work.
Leah H. Yellowbird, First Nations Algonquin-Metis, Anishinaabe, Waabig Wan (Flower), 2014, Acrylic on canvas, 18 × 48 in. (45.7 × 121.9 cm). Tweed Museum of Art, UMD, Sax Brothers Purchase Fund, D2015.32. © Leah Yellowbird.
Illustration of a Native American woman looking at a butterfly while she holds a small hand broom made with feathers.
Holly Young, Dakota, Spirit Messenger, 2023, Watercolor on paper, 9 × 6 in. (22.9 × 15.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist. © Holly Young.
Psychedelic colors make up four Native American figures receding into a surreal landscape of body parts, plants, and patterns.
Frank Big Bear, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Indian Bar, ca. 1972, Oil on canvas, 24 × 36¼ in. (61 × 92.1 cm).
Collection of Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Gift of Kirk Nelson, 2021 © Frank Big Bear.
Aerial view of a Santa Fe landscape featuring a trading post encircled by striated mountains and additional desert terrain.
David Bradley, Ojibwe, Lakota, End of the Santa Fe Trail, 1992, Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60.25 x 1.7 in. (121.9 x 153 x 4.3 cm). Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology, MIAC 5787613.
Gift of Ernest J. and Edith M. Schwartz. © David Bradley.
Water filled with birds, reptiles, and mammals, and a sky studded with a moon, stars, and geometric spirit like figures fade into each other in a long vertical composition.
Awanigiizhik Bruce, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, Gimanidooke'aan ji-aanjitoong Akiing—You Have the Power to Change the World, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 96 × 48 in. Courtesy of the artist. © Awanigiizhik Bruce.
Two machining robots stand on top of a pile of dying fish and crustaceans while the Italian words, Ultime grida dalla savanna, sit inside of an ombre colored circle positioned between the robots.
Andrea Carlson, Ojibwe, Ultime Grida Dalla Savana, 2011, Oil, acrylic, ink, color pencil, and graphite on paper, 45½ × 61 in. (115.6 × 154.9 cm). Collection of Plains Art Museum, 2015.002.0011 © Andrea Carlson.
A Native American women rests her hands on a railing as her back faces with various drawings of horses breaking into a run behind her.
Avis Charley, Spirit Lake Dakota, Diné, Different Star Woman, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 40 × 30 in. (101.6 × 76.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist © Avis Charley.
A geometric, compass like design encircled by four different groupings of horses sits at the center of a buffalo hide.
Fern Cloud, Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota, Untitled, 2022, Natural pigments on buffalo hide, approx. 96 × 96 in. (243.8 × 243.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist. © Fern Cloud.
A symmetrical floral design grows upward with a star filled sky in the background.
Michelle Defoe, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Anishinaabe Nation, The Stars Remember: We are the caretakers of the land and our ancestors reborn, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 96 × 48 in. (243.8 × 121.9 cm). Courtesy of the artist © Michelle Defoe.
Four riders on horseback, bathed in moonlight, gallop alongside a river through a shadowy landscape.
Jim Denomie, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe, Medicine Bear, 2018, Oil on canvas, 35 × 49 in. (88.9 × 124.5 cm). The Jane Fluegel Collection. Courtesy of Bockley Gallery. © Jim Denomie Estate.
Three Ojibwe women pick berries from a large bush and place them into a basket at the central figure’s feet.
Sam English, Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, Berry Pickers Pickin’, 2012, Watercolor on paper, approx. 15 × 11½ in. (38.1 × 29.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist. © Sam English.
A solitary figure stands in the distance surrounded by a bleak, muted landscape.
Carl Gawboy, Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, On the Road, 1962, Oil on canvas, 36⅛ × 22 in. (91.8 × 55.9 cm). Collection Tweed Museum of Art, UMD, Richard E. and Dorothy Rawlings Nelson Collection of American Indian Art, Gift of Richard E. (Dick) Nelson.
The head and outstretched arms of a surreal figure frames a lakeshore landscape flanked by two dog like creatures.
Joe Geshick, Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, The Welcoming, 2004, Oil on canvas, 72 × 84 in. (182.9 × 213.4 cm).
Collection of The Acreage at Osceola, WI. On loan from Kiran Stordalen Trust.
A figure covers another figure with a blanket, while seven spirits fly over a group of figures sitting at a table who are signing a document.
Sylvia Houle, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (Ojibwe), Lapointe Treaty of 1854: Why We Are (Still) Here, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 96 × 48 in. (243.8 × 121.9 cm). Courtesy of the artist. © Sylvia Houle.
A child emerges from water grasping for the hand of another figure who floats above the surface.
Oscar Howe, Yanktonai Dakota, Creation of Weotanica, 1975, Casein on paper, 19 × 28 in. (48.3 × 71.1 cm).
Collection of the University of South Dakota. Purchase of Oscar Howe Art Committee. PC OH7. The paintings of Oscar Howe are provided with permission from the Oscar Howe Family.
A Native American figure rides on horseback towards an American flag and a series of firing guns. This scene is superimposed on top of a Homestake Mining Company shares document.
Waŋblí Mayášleča (Francis J. Yellow, Jr.), Lakȟóta, Ikicize Nunpa (Two Fighters), 2011, Watercolor and ink on antique stock certificate, 6¾ × 10¼ in. (17.1 × 26 cm). Collection of the Plains Art Museum, Fargo, North Dakota, 2015.002.0080. © Waŋblí Mayášleča (Francis J. Yellow, Jr.).
A series of brushstrokes create an abstract composition reminiscent of an aerial street view.
George Morrison, Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, Untitled, 1959, Water-based media on paper, 14⅛ × 13⅜ in. (35.9 × 34 cm). Collection Tweed Museum of Art, UMD, Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation Purchase Fund, D94.x8.
© George Morrison Estate.
A male figure sits legs cross in a chair with a violin and bow resting in his hands.
Steven Premo, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Grandpa John’s Fiddle, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 48 × 36 in. (121.9 × 91.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist. © Steven Premo.
Two fantastical figures with legs like a deer harvest wild rice in a canoe.
Rabbett Before Horses Strickland, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, Ricing, 2022, Oil on canvas, 60 × 84 in. (152.4 × 213.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist. © Rabbett Before Horses Strickland.
Sewn textile with a procession of painted adults and children carrying their possessions as if they are going on a journey.
Cole Redhorse Taylor, Mdewakanton Dakota, Prairie Island Indian Community, Exodus and Diaspora, 2023,
Acrylic and mixed media, approx. 40 × 60 in. (101.6 × 152.4 cm) folded; 63 × 60 in. (160 × 152.4 cm) overall
Courtesy of the artist. © Cole Redhorse Taylor.
Abstract composition of a figure wearing an eagle and turtle headdress while being encircled by other animals.
Roy Thomas, Ojibwe, Longlac Reserve at Pacquashun, Painting Tomorrow’s Dream, 1997–98, Acrylic on canvas, 48 × 36 in. (121.9 × 91.4 cm). Collection Tweed Museum of Art, UMD, Gift of Sivertson Gallery, Duluth, D2000.x5.
A small surreal figure with the head of a woodpecker and body of a human holds the hand of a large figure with a tree branch for a nose.
Jonathan Thunder, Red Lake Band of Ojibwe, Suspension of Disbelief, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, 72 × 48 in. (182.9 × 121.9 cm). Courtesy of the artist. © Jonathan Thunder.
An elder man with a dark hat and sunglasses stands rests his arm on a gray wall while bands of color and fish flow diagonally above and below him.
Moira Villiard, Ojibwe, Fond du Lac Band direct descendant, Portrait of Tuffy, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 96 × 48 in. (243.8 × 121.9 cm). Courtesy of the artist. © Moira Villiard.
Portrait of a robot surrounded by floating particles that represent the Coronavirus.
Star WallowingBull, White Earth Ojibwe, Arapaho, IG-COVID-19, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 24 × 18 in. (61 × 45.7 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Bockley Gallery. © Star WallowingBull.
Large scale mural with a central eight pointed star surrounded by flowers and an arc of braided sweetgrass.
Thomasina TopBear, Santee Dakota and Oglala Lakota, The Great Mystery, 2023, Aerosol spray paint on canvas, 120 x 216 in. approx., Courtesy of the artist. © Thomasina TopBear.

January 16 - March 16, 2024
Dreaming Our Futures: Ojibwe and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Artists and Knowledge Keepers

Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Regis Center for Art

Please note: The gallery will be closed March 4 – 9 for Spring Break.

Dreaming Our Futures: Ojibwe and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Artists and Knowledge Keepers marks the opening of the George Morrison Center for Indigenous Arts and features work in a wide variety of painting media and esthetic approaches by 29 artists, including Frank Big Bear, David Bradley, Awanigiizhik Bruce, Andrea Carlson, Avis Charley, Fern Cloud, Michelle Defoe, Jim Denomie, Patrick DesJarlait, Sam English, Carl Gawboy, Joe Geshick, Sylvia Houle, Oscar Howe, Waŋblí Mayášleča (Francis J. Yellow, Jr.), George Morrison, Steven Premo, Rabbett Before Horses Strickland, Cole Redhorse Taylor, Roy Thomas, Jonathan Thunder, Thomasina TopBear, Moira Villiard, Kathleen Wall, Star WallowingBull, Dyani White Hawk, Bobby Dues Wilson, Leah H. Yellowbird, and Holly Young.

The exhibition premiers at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (January 16 – March 16, 2024), then travels to the Rochester Art Center (April 24 – July 21, 2024) and continues to the Tweed Museum of Art at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (September 3 – December 27). The Katherine E. Nash Gallery has published a fully illustrated exhibition catalogue with critical essays by several prominent Native American scholars. The catalogue is distributed worldwide by University of Minnesota Press.

Dreaming Our Futures is curated by Brenda J. Child (Red Lake Ojibwe), Northrop Professor of American Studies, University of Minnesota, and Howard Oransky, Director of the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, with Christopher Pexa (Bdewákaŋtuŋwaŋ Dakota, Spirit Lake Nation), Associate Professor of English, Harvard University. Dreaming Our Futures is co-sponsored by the Department of American Studies, the Department of American Indian Studies, the Department of Art History, the Office for Public Engagement, the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, the Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities, the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Senior Advisor to the President for Native American Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Opening Reception & Public Program

Saturday, February 3, 4:00-8:00 pm
4:00-6:00 PM Program, InFlux Space, E110
6:00-8:00 PM Reception, Regis East Lobby

See a video slideshow of the Program + Reception on our YouTube.

Join us for a program hosted by Brenda J. Child, (Red Lake Ojibwe), Northrop Professor of American Studies, University of Minnesota. Presented in partnership with The Great Northern. Panelists include:

  • Kate Beane (Flandreau Santee Sioux Dakota and Muscogee Creek), Executive Director, Minnesota Museum of American Art
  • Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), author
  • Diane Wilson (Dakota), author
  • Christopher Pexa (Bdewákaŋtuŋwaŋ Dakota, Spirit Lake Nation), Associate Professor of English, Harvard University. 

Related Programming

Wednesday, January 17, 7:00 pm
Exhibition catalogue book launch at Milkweed Books
1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis
Join us for the launch of Dreaming Our Futures: Ojibwe and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Artists and Knowledge Keepers, with editors Brenda J. Child and Howard Oransky and contributor and The Seed Keeper author Diane Wilson.

Friday, February 2, 1:00 - 2:30pm & 2:45 - 4:15pm
The George Morrison Center for Indigenous Arts presents the first Horizon Seminar
"Art and American Indian Citizenship, 1924 – 2024"
with Brenda J. Child and Christopher Pexa
InFlux Space, E110, Regis Center for Art

First Panel will feature Kate Beane, Heid Erdrich, Patricia Marroquin Norby, and Matthew Martinez, moderated by Brenda J. Child.

Second Panel will feature Mona Susan Power, Cole Redhorse Taylor, Darlene St. Clair, and Angela Two Stars, moderated by Christopher Pexa.

Thursday, February 15, 12:00 pm
Regis Center for Art, InFlux Space, E110, Regis Center for Art
Join us for a presentation with Patricia Marroquin Norby (Purépecha), the inaugural Associate Curator of Native American Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. She will read her essay, "Painting Medicine: George Morrison’s Big Water Magic", on the exhibition artist George Morrison from the exhibition catalogue.

Thursday March 14, 12:00-1:00 PM
Regis Center for Art, InFlux Space, E110, Regis Center for Art
Join us for a presentation with exhibition artist Fern Cloud on traditional Dakota hide painting techniques.

George Morrison Center for Indigenous Arts 

Dreaming Our Futures: Ojibwe and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Artists and Knowledge Keepers is the inaugural exhibition of the George Morrison Center for Indigenous Arts at the University of Minnesota. This new study center in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota — an interdepartmental collaboration between the University of Minnesota Department of American Indian Studies, Department of American Studies, and Department of Art — supports the creation, presentation, and interpretation of Indigenous art in all its forms and makes no distinction between the fine arts and Indigenous traditional arts. Future plans for the Center include the Morrison Center Distinguished Visiting Artists program, related graduate seminars and undergraduate courses on the development of museum exhibitions on American Indian topics and artists, and student internships in conjunction with the Minnesota Museum of American Art, which will allow students to develop expertise working with works by George Morrison and other American Indian artists held in that collection.

Land Acknowledgement
The University of Minnesota is on Miní Sóta Makhóčhe, the land of the Dakhóta Oyáte.

Sponsorship
Generous support has been provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and the Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts.

Dreaming Our Futures exhibition co-sponsor logos
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