Into the Mirror exhibit opens

On Saturday, March 30, the Oklahoma History Center Museum will open Into the Mirror, an exhibit featuring 20 Native American artists from the museum’s permanent collection.

The exhibit will be located in the ONEOK, Inc. rotating gallery space. Before touring the exhibit, a members-only reception and introductory lecture will begin at 1 p.m. in the museum’s Chesapeake Event Center and Gallery. Leon Natker, director of the OHCM and curator of Into the Mirror, will present the lecture. Members will receive an invitation.

The works range from 1878 to the present and were chosen 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.

FOR OHS MEMBERS:
Before touring the exhibit, a members-only reception and introductory lecture will begin at 1 p.m., March 30 in the museum’s Chesapeake Event Center and Gallery. Leon Natker, director of the OHCM and curator of Into the Mirror, will present the lecture. Seating will be limited, so members are encouraged to RSVP in advance. Light refreshments will be served.

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