AMERICAN HERITAGE CLOSE UP
November is American Indian Heritage Month. How are you going to celebrate?
Abustling Midwestern city is not the first place you’d expect to find an adobe pueblo. Or stumble across a sacred kiva. But the Eiteljorg is no ordinary institution. A slice of the southwest in bustling Indianapolis, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art offers a unique look at indigenous cultures and frontier life. And since November is American Indian Heritage Month, the museum has a busy schedule of events.
What makes the Eiteljorg unique? “We’re the only museum in the Midwest to offer Native American and Western art, and one of only two this side of the Mississippi,” says director Anthony Scott. “If you want to see the culture of the West without actually going to the West, the Eiteljorg is a fantastic place to do it.”
Of the museum’s four collections, the Contemporary Native and Western Art Gallery is “by far most well-received,” Scott notes. The extensive collection features modern works by Hispanic, African American and Asian artists, as well as by Native American artists such as Kay Walking Stick. An Andy Warhol portrait of Ogala Sioux activist Russell Means is a visitor favorite. The contemporary gallery is “the unexpected Eiteljorg,” says Scott. “It takes visitors by surprise.”
In addition to contemporary works, the Eiteljorg displays nearly 200 years of American heritage. In the Grand Gallery of Western Art, visitors can see the frontier through the eyes of the nation’s major artists. Highlights include George Catlin’s naturalistic portraits of American Indians and Frederic Remington’s picturesque visions of frontier life. Nearby is the Art of the West Gallery, which houses one of the world’s foremost collections of work by the Taos Society of Artists. This collective, active during the first half of the 20th century, produced luminous visions of the New Mexico landscape. Finally, the Native Galleries display works from across the continent. Exquisite handicrafts and turquoise jewellery share gallery space with tipi and ceremonial headdresses.
Although the museum contains artifacts from nearly every North American tribe, its atmosphere is decidedly southwestern. Acclaimed architect Jonathan Hess modelled the museum after the adobe pueblos of New Mexico. The sandstone-colored exterior “captures the hues of the southwest,” observes Scott, while a vast interior evokes the wide-open spaces of the frontier. The circular building echoes the kiva—the subterranean chamber held sacred by many New Mexico tribes.
The museum’s centerpiece totem pole is a big hit with younger visitors. A spiral staircase winds around the beloved artifact, allowing visitors to go face to face with the 34-foot, 1.9-ton behemoth. “Schoolchildren love it,” enthuses Scott.
In addition to its galleries, the museum houses a library, a laboratory and a sculpture garden. Central to the museum’s identity is its founder’s vision. A coal-miner-cum-art-aficionado, Harrison Eiteljorg was captivated by the landscapes of the southwest.
As a frequent visitor to Taos, NM, Eitelborg associated with a local artistic collective known as the Taos Ten. He also journeyed to Taos Pueblo, a Native American village where adobe dwellings have stood for centuries.
The traveler amassed an unrivalled collection of Native American and Western art and in 1989, at the age of 86, he opened his own institution. Today, the Eiteljorg Museum spans 118,000 square feet and displays about 600 works of art.
Visitors to Eiteljorg this November are in luck, as the place will be buzzing with special events to mark American Indian Heritage Month. Artists and academics wrangle over issues at the Symposium on Native American Fine Art on November 5. Katrina Mitten, a member of the Miami tribe and an expert beadworker, demonstrates her craft on November 11 and 12. Also from the Miami tribe, Patria Smith displays her traditional gourd art on November 18 and 19.
This November, celebrate America’s indigenous art, architecture and culture in one of Indiana’s premier cultural institutions. And, as the saying goes, “Go West, young man.” www.eiteljorg.org
WORDS TRACY WALSH