Indigenizing Galleries

Part of ThinkND’s “Indigenous Voices” series, this powerful conversation brought together two leading figures in contemporary Native art to explore how museums, galleries, and institutions can begin the long-overdue work of centering Indigenous knowledge, presence, and authorship. Far from just a diversity initiative, this event offered a clear-eyed critique of traditional curatorial practices—and a roadmap for real transformation.

In this rich and necessary conversation, Debra Yepa-Pappan and Dakota Hoska outlined the changes needed within galleries, museums, and public institutions to truly center Indigenous people, artists, and stories. Moderated by Jared Katz, the discussion tackled not only the erasure and misrepresentation of Native peoples in the art world but also the proactive, culturally respectful frameworks being developed to restore truth, presence, and power to Indigenous narratives.

Debra Yepa-Pappan, a Korean and Jemez Pueblo artist and co-founder of the Center for Native Futures in Chicago, discussed the radical act of Indigenous self-representation through curation. Her work aims to carve out unapologetically Native-led spaces that celebrate contemporary Native creativity—not just in reaction to colonization but as a living, evolving art practice grounded in community, land, and futurism. She explained how the Center for Native Futures resists extractive museum models by creating artist-first programming, multi-tribal collaborations, and gallery events that reflect Indigenous value systems.

Dakota Hoska, Lakota curator at the Denver Art Museum, echoed these concerns and outlined institutional strategies for transforming predominantly white institutions from the inside. This includes rethinking collections (What is Native art? Who decides?), acknowledging land and labor histories, hiring Indigenous staff across departments, and ensuring that curatorial authority rests with Native voices. She emphasized that change is slow—but possible—when institutions commit to accountability and deep listening.

Both speakers stressed that “Indigenizing” a space does not mean inserting a single artifact or exhibit, but redesigning the logic of the institution itself. This includes seating circles instead of podiums, embracing intergenerational storytelling, rejecting the “vanishing Indian” myth, and recognizing that Indigenous knowledge is contemporary, not stuck in the past. They also discussed how Native art is often forced into narrow frames—“craft,” “folk,” “historical”—instead of being seen as intellectual, experimental, and avant-garde.

The conversation closed on a call to action: to move beyond inclusion and toward sovereignty. Museums must become places where Native people feel ownership, not just representation. And Indigenous artists must be supported not as symbols, but as culture-shapers, theorists, and visionaries of their own present and future.