iilaalée = car (goes by itself) + ii = by means of which + dáanniili = we parade
Artist: Wendy Red Star (American, Crow, born 1981)
Publisher: Crow's Shadow Institue of the Arts
Date: 2015
Dimensions:
24 × 38 in.
Medium: Nine color lithograph on Somerset Satin whitepaper with chine colle archival pigment ink photographs on Moab
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchased with funds given by Edith Rathbun
Object number: 2019.25
Label Text:As Wendy Red Star explains, “I work across disciplines to explore the intersections of Native American ideologies and colonialist structures, both historically and in contemporary society.” Her work is informed by her experience growing up on the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation in Montana, as she confronts stereotypes about Native Americans while deploying symbols drawn from powwow and reservation culture, including public housing and “rez cars” (a derogatory term for dilapidated vehicles), along with her own childhood memories of being referred to as a “half-breed” (her father is Apsáalooke and her mother is of Irish descent).
Red Star’s collage print iilaalée calls attention to the deep-rooted cultural traditions of the Apsáalooke. Collaged on the print is an inkjet image based on a found photograph taken from the annual Crow Fair in Montana, a gathering for all Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains that originated in 1904 and attracts thousands of attendees. The photograph commemorates the parade that incorporates trucks customized with regalia that demonstrate each tribal nation’s heritage—from handmade beadwork and shawls to blankets—set against a Native textile design. Red Star’s design pays homage to a parade tradition originating from horse culture to visually assert her tribal Nation’s living practices and evolving cultural production.
Red Star’s collage print iilaalée calls attention to the deep-rooted cultural traditions of the Apsáalooke. Collaged on the print is an inkjet image based on a found photograph taken from the annual Crow Fair in Montana, a gathering for all Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains that originated in 1904 and attracts thousands of attendees. The photograph commemorates the parade that incorporates trucks customized with regalia that demonstrate each tribal nation’s heritage—from handmade beadwork and shawls to blankets—set against a Native textile design. Red Star’s design pays homage to a parade tradition originating from horse culture to visually assert her tribal Nation’s living practices and evolving cultural production.
Not on view