Dana Claxton (born 1959) is a

Hunkpapa Lakota The Hunkpapa (Lakota: ) are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe. The name ' is a Lakota word, meaning "Head of the Circle" (at one time, the tribe's name was represented in European-American records as ...

filmmaker, photographer, and

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

. Her work looks at stereotypes, historical context, and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

Indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

, specifically those of the

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

. In 2007, she was awarded an Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art.

Background

Heritage and early life

Claxton's family are descendants of

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( lkt, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock I ...

's followers who escaped persecution by the U.S. Army in 1876 after the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

, heading to Canada. Growing up in

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are k ...

, she is the youngest of four siblings. Her family's

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

Wood Mountain Lakota First Nation The Wood Mountain First Nation ( lkt, Tatanka Iyutaka Lakota Oyate, also spelt as ''Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake Lakȟóta Oyáte'') is a Lakota First Nations band government in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Led across the border by Sitting Bull, th ...

, is located in Southwest Saskatchewan.

Teaching and video production

Claxton co-founded the Indigenous Media Arts Group and has taught at the

Emily Carr University of Art and Design Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co-e ...

in Vancouver. In 2003 she served as the Global Television Chair at the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchew ...

where she taught at the school of journalism. In 2010 she served as Simon Fraser University's Ruth Wynn Woodward Chair in

Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

. She has worked closely with numerous Canadian and First Nations organizations, such as the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, among others. She served as director and producer for 52 episodes of the Canadian program '' Wakanheja'', a First Nations oriented children's program and 26 episodes of ''ArtZone'', an art show for teenagers. She also served as producer and a storyteller for '' First Stories-VTV'', a program about the Aboriginal population of Vancouver.

Current life

When not creating art, Claxton serves on panel discussions, as an art juror, curator, as well as a mentor for young and emerging artists. Claxton lives in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

and is a faculty member at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. She previously studied acting at

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency progra ...

in New York City.

Artistic career

''I'm influenced by my own experience as a Lakota woman, as a Canadian, a mixed blood Canadian, and then my own relationship to the natural and supernatural world. So taking that whole bundle of experiences, it all goes in to the artwork, I think that's where the multi-layering comes in because I've had a very multi-layered life. And it's all those experiences that go in to the work.'' – Dana Claxton, 2007

Claxton combines her own world-view with Indigenous issues from the past and present. She investigates concerns about

colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

, body imagery, beauty, politics, spirituality and the

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

of Native peoples and how it is placed in popular culture. Through video, photography and conceptual projects Claxton strives to blend traditional experiences and environments within contemporary spaces

Video

Claxton's video creations started in the early 1990s. Experimenting with video in works such as ''Grant Her Restitution'' (1991) and ''I Want To Know Why'' (1994) where she explores the effects of colonialism on Canadian women. Evolving her artistic goals further, starting in 1996 with ''The Red Paper'', Claxton proceeded to attempt to "bring spirit into the gallery space". Through the blending of the

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

and

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

she incorporates traditional objects and symbols of Lakota spirituality in contemporary spaces and environs. Her numerous video projects have been shown in more than 15 countries.

Photography

In the series ''On to the Red Road'' (2006), Claxton brings together five photographs to take a look on femininity and clothing. Through the series Claxton is showing a model wearing traditional regalia slowly removing articles of clothing to reveal a sexy outfit, bringing questions of sexuality and gender bias to light. ''Paint Up'' (2009) features portraits of Joseph Paul, a ceremonial

Salish Salish () may refer to: * Salish peoples, a group of First Nations/Native Americans ** Coast Salish peoples, several First Nations/Native American groups in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest ** Interior Salish peoples, several First Nat ...

Black Face dancer and

Pow-wow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an ...

dancer living on the Musqueam Indian Reserve. Up close, large scale color portraits of Paul with his face painted, these works have been described as "imposing images, striking and cool, throw down a challenge to the sterile, nonspiritual, materialistic view of contemporary life." Newer works such as the ''Mustang Suite'' take a vivid look at the meanings and stereotypes behind ''Indianess'', specifically Black Elk's vision of the Horse Dance. A group of large C-prints, the

mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...

represents freedom and mobility, and is not necessarily displayed as a horse. ''Daddy's Gotta New Ride'' shows an Indigenous man in a black suit with face paint and braided hair, standing next to a red

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

. ''Baby Girls Gotta Mustang'' features twin girls in red dresses and

mukluk Mukluks or kamik ( iu, ᑲᒥᒃ ) (singular: , plural: ) are a soft boot, traditionally made of reindeer ( caribou) skin or sealskin, and worn by Arctic aboriginal people, including the Inuit, Iñupiat, and Yup'ik. Mukluks may be worn ove ...

s on bicycles. Another in the series, ''Mama Has a Pony Girl…Named History and Sets Her Free'', shows a

medicine woman A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and ceremo ...

with her arms outstretched and a

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

woman danced like a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

pony girl. The image is meant to support Aboriginal women who wish to release themselves from the binds of history, specifically one filled with sexualized stereotypes. Other images in the series are large scale reflections on the

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

community in a contemporary world. Claxton has also focused on the

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police ...

which features blown up black-and-white photos of declassified government documents about the at times controversial civil rights organization. The documents were collected when Claxton lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s, from the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. The reporting documents have many blacked out words, notorious of other government documents from the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

and related organizations. Claxton's photography has been featured in the book ''#NotYourPrincess Voices of Native American Women'' (2017), which was edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale. Included in her art piece ''Onto the Red Road'', Claxton states that " tis about transformation, spirituality, and objectification of Indigenous

omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages fr ...

" When asked "what it means to be an NDN woman," Claxton cites "care for your family and community with generosity, courage, wisdom, and fortitude."

Major works

Buffalo Bone China

In ''Buffalo Bone China'' Claxton blends performance art, found objects and video to dissect the effects upon

peoples due to policies from colonial Great Britain regarding the

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the ...

. Bison were slaughtered and their bones crushed and exported to England to make

bone china Bone china is a type of ceramic that is composed of bone ash, feldspathic material, and kaolin. It has been defined as "ware with a translucent body" containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived from animal bone and calculated calcium phospha ...

. In the performance Claxton smashes pieces of china and makes four bundles, placing the bundles in a sacred circle while a video of buffalo plays in the background. "Feeling the loss of the buffalo, the backbone of Plains spirituality and sustenance, the artist uses a rubber mallet to destroy plates and bowls. The breaking of the china refers to the use of buffalo bones in the making of bone china during the period of exploitation and decimation of the buffalo." Claxton only smashed British bone China. ''Buffalo Bone China'' was exhibited at the

MacKenzie Art Gallery The MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG; french: Musee d’art MacKenzie) is an art museum located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The museum occupies the multipurpose T. C. Douglas Building, situated at the edge of the Wascana Centre. The building holds e ...

in Canada from 23 May 2009 to 13 September 2009, as well as the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

from 27 October 2018 to 3 February 2019.

Sitting Bull and the Moose Jaw Sioux

Created in 2003 and displayed at the 17th

Biennale of Sydney The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales and ...

, ''Sitting Bull and the Moose Jaw Sioux'' brings together landscape scenery, interviews and images to examine the founding of the Moose Jaw camp, the camp founded by Sitting Bull after exodus out of the United States after the Battle of Little Bighorn. The piece, originally commissioned by the Moose Jaw Art Gallery, features four video screens, archival images and interviews from the camps original inhabitants, as well as footage of the site.

Awards

In 2019, the Hnatyshyn Foundation awarded Claxton their prize for outstanding achievement by a mid-career Canadian artist. In 2019 Claxton received the

YWCA Women of Distinction Award The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

in the category of Arts, Culture and Design. Claxton won the 2020

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for Artistic Achievement in the Visual Arts Category.

Notable collections

* Canada Council Art Bank *

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

Exhibitions

*''Fringing the Cube'', 2018–19,

*''Solo show'', 2010,

*''Native Visuality'', 2009,

C.N. Gorman Museum C.N. Gorman Museum is a museum focused on Native American and Indigenous artists, founded in 1973 at University of California, Davis (UC Davis) in Davis, California. History The C.N. Gorman Museum was founded in 1973 by the Department of Nativ ...

*''New Work'', 2009,

University of Lethbridge , mottoeng = ''Let there be light'' , type = Public , established = , academic_affiliations = Universities Canada , endowment = $73 million (2019) , chancellor = Charles Weasel ...

*''Steeling the Gaze'', 2009,

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

*''Solo show'', 2007, Montreal Biennale *''Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art'', 2007, Eiteljorg Museum *''Solo show'', 2006, Biennale d’art contemporain du Havre *''Solo show'', 2005, Art Star Biennale *''Gatherings: Aboriginal Art from the Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery'', 2004,

Guangdong Museum The Guangdong Museum () is a general museum of Cantonese art, nature, culture and history in Guangzhou. History Old building The Guangdong Provincial Museum was located on 215 Wenming Rd. (), in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, on which was the o ...

of Art *''Topographies'', 1996,

References

External links

''Dana Claxton, Buffalo Bone China''
on Tribe Inc.
''Dana Claxton: Disturbing History''
in Canadian Art
''Dana Claxton: From a Whisper to a Scream''
in Canadian Art
''Dana Claxton and the Power of Looking''
from The Vancouver Sun
''Danger in Paradise''
an exhibition curated by Claxton
''Red Paper''
from the Vancouver Art Gallery * a video by Lori Blondeau & Dana Claxton

by Dana Claxton
''The Medicine Project''
by Dana Claxton {{DEFAULTSORT:Claxton, Dana Hunkpapa people First Nations performance artists First Nations filmmakers First Nations conceptual artists Canadian performance artists Women performance artists First Nations photographers Canadian women photographers People from Yorkton University of Regina faculty Simon Fraser University faculty Artists from Saskatchewan Artists from Vancouver Film directors from Saskatchewan Film directors from Vancouver University of British Columbia faculty 1959 births Living people Canadian women artists First Nations women First Nations academics Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners