American Indian art is a broad, complex, and difficult topic. Art has always been an integral part of American Indian cultures, even though none of the more than 500 indigenous languages has a word that can be directly translated as “art.”
The eminent art historian Christian Feest, in his book Native Arts of North America, feels that there are four kinds of Indian art: tribal, ethnic, Pan-Indian, and Indian mainstream art. Prior to the European invasion, all Indian art was tribal: that is, it was produced by tribal members for use by tribal members.
As non-Indian tourists began travelling through North America, they began buying Indian artifacts as souvenirs to take home and display in their cabinets of curiosities. Then museums began displaying these “exotic” items. Native American artists noted the kinds of things that these non-Indians preferred and began making items specifically for this market. This was the birth of American Indian ethnic art.
The concept of Pan-Indian art—art by and about Indians in a general rather than purely tribal sense—began to develop in the 1930s with formal art programs in some boarding schools. In 1932, for example, Mable Morrow established a program devoted strictly to Indian arts and crafts at the Santa Fe Indian School. The new program sought to prepare students for careers as professional artists or as art teachers. At this same time, also in the Santa Fe Indian School, Dorothy Dunn encouraged Indian students to depict traditional ceremonial and tribal scenes, and plants and animals, using a flat, decorative, linear style.
In 1962 The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) was established in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The IAIA replaced the Santa Fe Indian School. The school’s curriculum provides both humanities and artistic training. Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser joined the faculty as head of the sculpture department. At the present time, the IAIA is a four-year tribal college with an enrollment of 350 students.
One of the Indian artists who acquired his formal art training at IAIA is Glenn LaFontaine, a Little Shell Cree. At IAIA, LaFontaine was influenced by Allen Houser. Shown below are some of his works which are on display at the Portland (Oregon) Art Museum.
Shown above is Cree Man Standing
Shown above is Eagle Plume
Shown above is Duck Pipe.