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LARGE-SCALE MURAL PAINTINGS ARE CREATED AT NACF NATIONAL CONVENING

On November 4-5, in Portland, Oregon, during the national convening of the Native Arts and Cultures field, artists Bunky Echo-Hawk (Pawnee/Yakama) and Toma Villa (Yakama) were busy painting two murals that documented the gathering from their unique artistic perspective. Situated at the front of the room and to the left of the stage, the artists mesmerized convening participants as they worked. The result was two large-scale paintings that actually fit together as one piece, and were donated to the NACF.

The artists began working on separate boards placed next to each other, then later in the convening, they changed places and painted on the board the other had begun.  At the end, one painting reveals a large Indian face looking out over a school of salmon swimming in a body of water.  The word, “Aloha” appears over the water in the upper right corner, and the following words are imbedded in the lights of a cityscape background:   

  • I go home
  • We will be accountable  for our own image
  • We will be our own foundation
  • We are artists blessed with mission
  • Now is the time to carry this gift to heal our communities

                                                                     
The other painting prominently features a distinctly Native clad figure coming from the water wearing a gas mask.  Northwest coast canoes filled with people are seen paddling through the water, and a Northwest coast mask appears below the canoes.  In the upper left corner, a Pawnee word expresses that life is good, no matter how difficult, and one should truly value the blessings.

 “This is a statement about…preservation,” said Echo-Hawk, as he talked about his frequent use of gas-masked figures in his work. “It is not enough to preserve culture and a way of life, but also to thrive in it. The gas mask is a symbol for something bad that will, or has, happened. But, wearing one [a gas mask] becomes another statement. We are facing environmental injustice, radiation, coal mining, etc., and still we persevere. We still celebrate the gifts that the creator has given us.”

“The figure emerges out of water – this symbolizes the communities coming together for this convening,” said Echo-Hawk. “The spirit wearing the gas mask is leading the way and protecting the people.”

“After having individual conversations with a lot of people here, we realized that the ‘process’ of creating art is not exposed a lot,” noted Echo-Hawk. “We feel blessed that we were able listen and be inspired by the conversations, by your ideas, and by the beauty and compassion in this room.”
“We don’t have word for art, but we have words for creating an image,” noted Echo-Hawk. “Our art is a way of life.”