Audio Stop 740

NARRATOR: 

Every artist in this exhibition offers a unique take on land and landscape. The ideas and approaches are as diverse as the cultures from which these artists hail, But this collection of works offers something more: An acknowledgment, a recognition, a seeing of Native American art and artists.  Native artists have been here – and they’re here now. They have a voice. 

For Neal Ambrose-Smith, a descendant of the Salish people in Montana, this is a powerful moment.

NEAL AMBROSE-SMITH: 

It's amazing and inspiring. It's a new era.

Here's a whole group of smashing artists, some of them just starting out.  Many have been around a while, and they're ready and available.

NARRATOR: 

Neal is an artist as well.  He’s also the son of curator Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, so he’s grown up around Native American art his entire life.  But rarely does he see his own experience reflected in museum exhibitions.

NAS: 

If I go to the Tate in London, let's say, I can appreciate the brushstrokes and the color and the composition and that sort of thing, but the stories are not mine.  It's not my connection.  And in this work, throughout the entire exhibition here at the NGA, there is a deep connection for me about my history and who I am and where I come from.

It used to be when I'd watch the news or read newspapers and things, they talked about multiculti. But nobody ever said Native Americans.  This is new.  Now we’re part of that.  We’re actually being recognized with all these other communities simultaneously.  It's really amazing.  How long is it going to last?  I don't know, but I'm not looking back.  I'm looking forward.

NARRATOR: 

Thanks again for joining us today.  Enjoy the rest of your visit to the National Gallery of Art.