Into the Mirror exhibit closes

The Oklahoma History Center Museum (OHCM) exhibit Into the Mirror—an exhibit of 20 Native American artists from the museum’s permanent collection, will remain open through January 25, 2025.

The exhibit will be located in the ONEOK, Inc. rotating gallery space at OHCM. The works range from 1878 to the present and were curated for Into the Mirror by OHCM Director Leon Natker because they are works by Native Americans depicting Native Americans. Since the beginning of colonization, representations of Indigenous peoples have been controversial, ranging from overly romantic and idealized to racist caricatures. This exhibit holds the spotlight on how Indigenous people represent themselves.

The earliest work in the exhibit was created by artist Buffalo Meat (Cheyenne), 1847-1917, who was a prisoner at Fort Marion at the time of his creations. Contemporary artists include Brent Learned (Cheyenne-Arapaho) and Sharon Ahtone-Harjo (Kiowa). The exhibit also includes works by Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Crumbo (Citizen Potawatomi), 1912-1989; Enoch Kelly Haney (Seminole/Mvskoke), 1940-2022; Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Big Bow (Kiowa), 1914-1988, and Archie Blackowl (Cheyenne), 1911-1992. A variety of mediums are represented including oil, acrylic, watercolor, casein, pencil sketches, lithographs, and bronze sculpture.

The exhibit will run through January 30, 2025.

Fight Between, 1879, by Buffalo Meat (Cheyenne). Colored pencil, crayon, watercolor, and graphite on ledger paper (01042.001, Oklahoma Historical Society Collection).