A Conversation at the Intersection of Art, Law & Indian Identity

Hear a panel of cutting-edge American Indian artists and leading lawyers discuss the ways Indian Identity and artist vision can shape and challenge American Indian identity while also having legal implications and community impact.

This event is hosted by the Heard in partnership with the Native American Rights Fund and the Indian Legal Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
Admission is free, but RSVP is required by clicking here.

The conversation will be moderated by Kevin Gover (Pawnee), director of the National Museum of the American Indian. Panelists will include:

• Brett Shelton (Oglala Sioux Tribe), artist and staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund.
• Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute) As a provocative contemporary artist/activist and 15-year resident of the Washington, D.C., metro area, much of Gregg’s work deals with indigenous identity and pop-culture, touching on issues of race relations, historical consideration and stereotype.
• Matika Wilbur (Swinomish/Tulalip) is an unique artist and social documentarian in Indian Country. She is founder of Project 562 which explores Native identity and experience through a dedication to photographing contemporary Native America.

A reception is at 3:30 p.m., followed by the program at 4 p.m. The program will include:

• A screening of a short documentary, The Last American Indian On Earth, about contemporary artist Gregg Deal’s first performance piece “The Last American Indian On Earth” (TLAIOE), a piece he carried for a year. TLAIOE explores the romantic, misunderstood and often racist interactions average Americans have when encountering an Indigenous person. The performance allows Deal to explore this strange American interaction, the problems with it and the critical thinking that goes in to asserting identity and enacting change.
• The screening will be followed by Matika Wilbur speaking about her work and Project 562.
• After a brief break, at approximately 5 p.m., Deal and Wilbur will join Shelton in the conversation moderated by Gover.