Indigenous Artist Honors Grandmothers at All My Relations Arts

The exhibition Uŋči Said So, a collection of several works by Danielle SeeWalker centered around grandmothers, tradition, and heritage, is showing at All My Relations Arts until June 6.

SeeWalker said she was inspired by memories and stories of grandmothers, and “Uŋči” means “grandmother” in Lakȟóta. The gallery exhibition includes several painted portraits of matriarchs, neon signs, and painted drum heads. 

“It just wasn’t something that I decided upon and then started creating all these pieces. It was sort of like I just created these pieces organically, because that’s how I like to work,” she said. “And then when I started to take a step back, it kind of came to me, like, I want to pay homage to the grandmas in my life, whether they’re my biological grandmas, grandmas that gave me inspiration, or have been there for me in different walks of life and experiences, because a lot of these stories have come from them.”

SeeWalker is a Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta multi-disciplinary artist from the Standing Rock Sioux Nation in North Dakota. Her portraits in Uŋči Said So are vibrant expressionist paintings of figures with their faces partially blurred or obscured except for one realistic eye meant to set the tone for the painting and to draw the viewer in. SeeWalker said the eye motif was inspired by one of her dreams. 

She paints each of her subjects sporting braids, which move across the canvas freely in every direction. A bold and prominent feature of her paintings, the hair becomes a bold symbol of Native identity and heritage in the context of her colorful compositions of maternal figures.

Many of the portraits feature other motifs, most prominently colorful lines crossing canvases and certain sections censored by black paint or pixel-like squares. SeeWalker said the lines are inspired by the journeys of Native people and the censors by the repression of Native voices. 

“Each piece comes with its own inspiration and stories that I reflect upon, experiences that I might have had, or things I witnessed,” she said. 

On display beside the portraits are a few neon signs featuring Lakȟóta words and Native sayings. SeeWalker said she was drawn to neon as a medium because of her love for bright, eye-catching colors. 

Also on display are two raw buffalo hide drum heads painted with colorful geometric shapes and old labels of commodity foods. SeeWalker said the drum heads are part of a larger series on display at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo centered around reimagining the packaging of the commodity foods she grew up eating. 

The exhibition opened on April 10, with a celebratory reception in the small gallery on Franklin Ave. SeeWalker will return to teach a parfleche (raw hide painting) workshop on June 6. All My Relations Arts is an initiative of the nonprofit Native American Cultural Development Institute. 

“In terms of feedback I was given from several folks, was, ‘Wow, like, I’ve always seen your work in a magazine or digitally or online, but when you see it in person, it just gives me a whole different experience,’” SeeWalker said.