At St. Petersburg’s The James Museum, Indigenous artworks give voice to tradition

ST. PETERSBURG — An illuminating look at Indigenous life awaits at The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art.

“The Stories They Tell: Indigenous Art and the Photography of Edward S. Curtis” explores material culture, told both through Curtis’ photogravures of Indigenous people and through more than 90 Native American-made objects.

St. Petersburg couple Robb and Susan Hough loaned some of the Curtis works in the exhibition and donated others, meaning some will remain in the museum permanently. The exhibition was curated by assistant curator Caitlin Pendola and collections manager Jason Wyatt.

Curtis was a prolific photographer who in the early 20th century worked on a massive project to capture images of Native American people, working under the belief that their culture was vanishing. At the time the photos were made, Native American people were living on reservations, but Curtis staged the photos to make them look like they were from an earlier time.

“We know today that, of course, the cultures have survived and that’s what we’re hoping is a takeaway from the exhibition, is that the people are still creating material culture,” Pendola said.

Wyatt said that Curtis’ photographs are the starting point of the exhibition, but the objects included also show the progression of the art forms and techniques through the current era.

Pendola and Wyatt gave us a tour through the exhibition, which is divided into three sections.

California Basketry

Between 1890 and 1930 was an era known as the Golden Age of Basketry, Pendola said. “But what these baskets ultimately represent is Native resilience and resistance,” she said, because at the time there was a 95 percent decrease in the population of Indigenous Californians due to state-funded genocide and legal enslavement. Despite that, women continued to weave. Ironically, after coming through that dark period, Pendola said Americans took a huge interest in Native American basketry. The weavers used that to their advantage, as did Curtis by photographing baskets during the craze.

Southwest Pueblo Pottery

“Dancing Badger Figure” from 1880 is an example of the Cochiti tradition of making figurative pieces mocking non-Natives and depicting entertainers that traveled with circuses through the Pueblos. The pieces were regarded as tourist tchotchkes at the time, but now they’re highly desired by institutions because of the technical feat of creating a hollow form that can stand on its own, Wyatt said. It’s displayed with a piece from the 1980s, which is reviving the tradition with a storytelling figure, after a time when the Cochiti art form nearly died out.

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Artist Maria Martinez and her husband, Julian, revived the black-on-black pottery style — called Starkweather Smudged — after finding a shard of an example of it from the 12th century in their backyard in the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico. Wyatt said it took them some time to figure out how to re-create the design. The shiny black pieces are polished and the matte black is fired on. Martinez passed the tradition down to her children and grandchildren. The style took off among artists and was very popular with collectors throughout the 20th century. Today, artists including Martinez’s relatives are experimenting with other styles that expand on the tradition.

Northwest Coast Carving and Textiles

This digital projection by Marianne Nicolson was commissioned by The James Museum. Nicolson is an artist in the Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw First Nations, part of the Kwakwaka’wakw people of the Pacific Northwest. She lives in British Columbia and uses light as a medium. The projection represents a traditional Kwakwaka’wakw house adorned with paintings. But this tradition also came from a dark period of Canadian history from 1884 to 1951, when there was a government-imposed ban on the potlatch tradition of the Pacific Coastal First Nations, in which items are given away in ceremonies. The Kwakwaka’wakw objects were considered sacred and kept hidden except during ceremonies. During the ban, many people were incarcerated but their sentences were suspended in exchange for their objects. The objects were put on display, and admission was charged to view them. This artwork depicts the colonial officials removing the ceremonial objects.

A portrait of the first chief arrested for practicing ceremonies under the potlatch ban shows him wearing a Button Blanket and holding a rattle. On display is Maxine Matilpi’s “Button Blanket” from 1998, along with a traditional rattle from the early 20th century. Contemporary artist Preston Singletary’s 2009 version of a Tlingit rattle is made of blown glass. “He’s paying homage to traditions but using a new medium,” Pendola said.

A Curtis photograph depicting a girl wearing a traditional robe is displayed next to a similar garment worn by chiefs during ceremonies; they still wear them today. The robe is on loan from the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle. It was made by a group of students learning a weaving technique known as the raven’s tail.

What to know if you go to The James Museum

“The Stories They Tell: Indigenous Art and the Photography of Edward S. Curtis” remains on view through May 14. $10-$23, free for kids 6 and younger. Open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. except on Tuesdays, when the museum is open until 8 p.m. and admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 7-18. Paid parking is available on the street and on levels 3 and 4 of the South Core Parking Garage above the museum. 150 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 727-892-4200. thejamesmuseum.org.