Resistance, Resurgence, and Representation in the art of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith explores and contributes to the dimensions of modern art, and at the same time, she challenges the way Western perspectives of art have theorized the movement. I argue that Smith has compelled scholars to engage with the possibility that Native cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and epistemologies add to the realm of art theory. By situating Smith within the framework of Indigenous philosophical thought, I argue that Smith’s ideas, techniques, process, and goals can be more consciously interpreted. First, this methodology will overturn repetitious reviews of Smith’s work, and in doing so, more space will be offered for the perspectives of Native people. Second, this methodology reaffirms the importance of Indigenous epistemologies, which centers the exploration of “identity, belonging, and relationality” through art. Smith exemplifies cultural resilience and projects it into the future, imagining new possibilities where Indigenous communities can exist and thrive. Imagining a future for Indigenous people requires the adoption of decolonization and establishing a praxis around this ideology. I argue that Smith’s body of work should be interpreted through a decolonial praxis, rooted in the desire for the liberation, being in and of the land, embracing traditional knowledge and oral history, and restoring hope to Indigenous communities.