Skip management at Frankfurt airport. “I come from Canada and I will be one of the first nations,” says David Seven Deer, sculptor Halcomolem Salisha in Vancouver, for customs official. He looks without understanding, then he laughs: “Oh, Indian! Welcome to Germany! “
After this meeting, seven deer decided to deliberately use the contradictory term “Indian”. Because: “No one understands descriptions, such as“ indigenous peoples ”here. I want to decide for myself that I call myself. “
Seven deer were in Lubeck for several months, where he works on the “canoe of the soul” in the courtyard of the cathedral, a living artistic performance. This is part of the exhibition “Fantasy and diversity. North America in the cultures of the world ”, which can currently be seen in the Museum of Nature and the Environment.
It represents 100 objects from the USA and Canada, which were created between the 18th and 20th centuries, and sometimes never showed publicly and in detail ask them: what are the first attributes, and the first residents of North America? What, at least, partially correctly correct what cliches is and, above all,: brings such an unprecedented and erroneous term as “Indians”, denies the variety of 600 recognized cultures of one continent of only this continent? Or should we relax, as David offers seven deer?
Long hair and combs became a symbol of resistance of indigenous peoples
The answer of the curators of the Lubeck exhibition is to allow many indigenous peoples to express their opinion, instead of talking about them. At the beginning of the show there is a quote from seven deer: “Animals are the first indigenous peoples of America.” On the other side of the room, current music clips work, for example, the artist Hiphop Apsáalooke “Supaman”.
It becomes difficult when outsiders want to accept cultures or earn money when, for example, sports clubs use pseudo-brown logos and names. Or when the ensemble made of Playmobil figures contains a dead recommendation next to the TiPi tape and, thus, whispered cultural elements that separated half the continent.
In general, it is replete with stereotypes in Europe. It was currently said that horses and glass beads were not known in America in front of Columbus. But who knows that most hunters for indigenous peoples did not capture meat, but fish, or that in addition to potatoes, tomato and tobacco, strawberries also came to Europe from there?
The Lubeck exhibition can be read from different points of view. Five “ways”, painted in color, question objects regarding their origin or as part of nature, spirituality, community and changes in living conditions.
In turn, the inconspicuous Nu-chah-Nultth comb in Veskanada tells the story of systematic alienation: the colonialists tore the children of the indigenous peoples from families to force them to boarding schools, where they first cut their hair. Long hair and calculations then became a symbol of the resistance of the indigenous peoples.
Today, indigenous peoples make up only 2.3 percent of the population of North America. But the struggle for land continues. Navajo in the southeast of the United States emphasized, identification with the heroes from the “War of the Stars”, the film was even synchronized in his language. Like Luke Skywalker and his colleagues, they see power on their side in an unequal struggle with the rulers.
In addition, US President Donald Trump has just stopped that he wants to return the prison to Alcatraz. Nevertheless, the “Movement of the American Indians” for decades registers claims for real estate of indigenous peoples. This is probably the most famous movement of activists of the indigenous peoples, and she has I-Word in his name.