Since the 1970s, artist and activist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith has been confronting the past and current injustices inflicted upon Native Americans through her expressionistic paintings, prints, and drawings.
Born on a reservation in Montana, of mixed Native American ancestry, she uses her work as a platform for her beliefs and describes herself as a bridge between white and Native peoples: “I see myself as a bridge builder. My art, my life experience, and my tribal ties are totally enmeshed. I go from one community with messages to the other, and I try to enlighten people.”
Through her use of Native American motifs, like horses and tepees, combined with ironic text fragments and images of the clashes between the colonizers and the colonized, Smith excoriates the historical and ongoing marginalization of her community, while celebrating the living beauty of its culture.
American, b. 1940
