I think fine art's fine.

Carving of a Weber-style house by Malaya Pitsiulak (image courtesy of Arctic Adaptations).

‘Terrance Houle is an interdisciplinary media artist and member of the blood tribe. He has traveled across North America participating in Powwow dancing and his native ceremonies. he works in a variety of mediums; performance, photography, video/film, music and painting. He also uses tools of mass dissemination such as billboards and buses.’ 

‘Many of Houle’s performances, it’s an absurd spectacle—a painfully  deliberate cliché, plied with a knowing wink. To say that Houle’s work is  centered on persistent stereotypes of Aboriginal representation goes beyond  the obvious. His Calgary apartment is littered with every manner of Indian  kitsch, including a Hiawatha doll on the mantle and a collection of steamy,  trashy Western romance novels. In his Urban Indian series of photographs  (2004) with Jarusha Brown, to pick just one example, Houle meanders  through a quotidian routine—breakfast at a diner, grocery shopping,  mundane office-drone chores in a cubicle—wearing full grassdance powwow  regalia, headdress and all.

With his gleeful send-ups of rote Aboriginal  representation—however mild, or hilarious—Houle joins generations  of First Nations contemporary artists for whom the simplistic Indian  identities fashioned by post-colonialism are a favorite target.

While Houle sketches colonialism’s master narratives—cowboys  and Indians, modernity, and everything in between—in broad, bombastic   strokes, his art is always, almost painfully, about himself. At once fearless,  charismatic, tender and intimate—and, we mustn’t forget, uproariously  funny—Houle’s work centers not on the desecrated, unspecific, victimized  Other, but on the artist’s flabby, beer-drinking, pizza-eating single-dad Self.’

“We were the Native family,” he says.  “Our identity was constantly being pointed out to us. But my folks always  used humour to cushion the blow. We were taught at an early age not to  put the barrier up, but to try to teach people who we are. I think that’s why,  at an early age, I started getting into art.”

Photo documentation from NDN Wars are Alive And… Well? (2010)

Performance by Aiyyana Maracle, 64 year old Haudenosaunee trans dyke performance artist. Site-specific performance in Sarnia, Ontario.

Artist statement:

MOONSHOT: The Indigenous Comics Collection

MOONSHOT is an incredible 200 page collection of short stories from Indigenous creators across North America, in comic book form!

“Produced by AH Comics Inc. (Titan: An Alternate History, Delta, Hobson’s Gate, Jewish Comix Anthology) and edited by Hope Nicholson (Brok Windsor, Lost Heroes, Nelvana of the Northern Lights), MOONSHOT brings together dozens of creators from across North America to contribute comic book stories showcasing the rich heritage and identity of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis storytelling.

From traditional stories to exciting new visions of the future, this collection presents some of the finest comic book and graphic novel work in North America. MOONSHOT will be an incredible collection that will amaze, intrigue and entertain!

Here are some of the talented artists and writers who will be creating original stories for MOONSHOT:

Claude St-Aubin (R.E.B.E.L.S., Green Lantern, Captain Canuck), Jeffery Veregge (G.I. Joe, Judge Dredd), Stephen Gladue (MOONSHOT cover artist), Haiwei Hou (Two Brothers), Nicholas Burns (Arctic Comics, Curse of Chucky, Super Shamou), Scott B. Henderson (Man to Man, Tales from Big Spirit), Jon Proudstar (Tribal Force), George Freeman (Captain Canuck, Aquaman, Batman), and more!

MOONSHOT will be printed as a 200 page, full colour, high quality volume showcasing a wide variety of stories and artistic styles, highlighting the complex identity of indigenous culture from across North America. Most of the original stories created exclusively for this volume are between 5-10 pages, including pinup art and prose passages.

The traditional stories presented in MOONSHOT are with the permission from the elders in their respective communities, making this a truly genuine, never-before-seen publication!”

Monte Cook Games Update:

Yesterday Monte Cook Games made THIS response to our petition. I merely call it a response because there was absolutely no hint of an apology. Monte Cook continues to do minimal efforts to pass as both respectful and professional. They continue to publish false information on their social media pages to control this conversation and use rhetoric in their statements for the sole purpose of defaming Native/NonNative voices who do not agree with their RPG game “The Strange” which includes the game at issue: “Thunder Plains” (pictures below).

The above images are comments which have been left on the petition. I think it’s extremely important to demonstrate that we are not the only ones who think this is offensive and also give some variations in our perspectives.

For those of you interested in learning more I would suggest the following links:

@MCSerf’s Critical Look at “Thunder Plains”

Cultural and Intellectual Property: It’s Not a Game, By Danielle Miller

——————->Petition to MCG <———————-

*Please note I will be posting further details later today or tomorrow detailing the actions of both parties in this ordeal*

This is the first article that popped up on google when I searched “Redskins Controversy.” I like how they included the video by The Daily Show/John Stewart.  

I also think it’s interesting, and also depressing, that according to the poll on this page that 70% of voters don’t feel that the “Edmonton Eskimos” name offensive or an issue.