Lummi glassblower Dan Friday’s great-grandfather was Joseph R. Hillaire, a renowned Lummi totem pole carver. His father was a mechanic and Friday seemed ordained to follow in his footsteps. When he was 20, however, he walked into a glass hot shop and knew immediately that blowing glass was something he could devote his life to. One of the great influences in his development was the late Lummi basket maker Fran James who advised him, “You’ve got to be making your own work,” giving him permission follow his own inspiration.

Preston Singletary (Tlingit) and Djambawa Marawili (Aboriginal), Untitled. Credit: Russell Johnson; photo courtesy of Preston Singletary Studio, Seattle, Washington.

While creating his own unique work, Friday says, “I want to bring my ancestors forward and the story of our people. I’m thinking about the best way that glass can represent my idea.” His series of glass totems honors the work of Hillaire in a less ephemeral material, and his series of baskets honors the work of his Auntie Fran.

Examples of both series are in the exhibition Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass opening at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 18. The exhibition is co-curated by Leticia Chambers, former CEO of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, and artist and museum consultant Cathy Short (Citizen Potawatomi Nation).

Rory Wakemup (Minnesota Chippewa), Ghost Shirt. Credit: IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

Della Warrior (Otoe-Missouria), the museum’s director, explains, “Clearly Indigenous is a groundbreaking new exhibition at MIAC that presents Native artists’ innovations in glass. By looking at the genesis of glass art throughout Indian Country—not just in the Southwest—the exhibition brings together a striking collection of work that tells a larger story about Indigenous cultural knowledge and artistic genius.”

The exhibition features work from 29 Native American artists and four Pacific Rim artists from New Zealand and Australia, as well as seminal glass artist Dale Chihuly.

Ed Archie Noisecat (Salish/Shuswap), Thunderbirds. Credit: Wendy McEaher and NoiseCat Art.

Rory Wakemup (Minnesota Chippewa) created a Ghost Shirt with the beaded leather war shirt, feather bonnet and bear claw necklace realized in glass. It is one of his few creations with a Native theme. “I have always had a fear of being a cliché ‘Indian artist,’” he writes, “creating art that had literal representations of what popular culture believes is ‘Indian,’ and worry about my work being labeled ‘Bambi Art.’ In my pursuit to be an Indian artist without using Indian imagery, I borrowed George Morrison’s philosophy that the ‘Indian Values’ are inherent in my work.” 

The great mythical thunderbird lived among the Coast Mountains of British Columbia occasionally swooping down to the sea to pluck a killer whale for a meal. It created thunder by flapping its wings and lightning shot from its eyes. It figures prominently in Northwest Indian art and legend.

Dan Friday (Lummi), Watcher Totem. Credit: Alec Miller and Friday Glass.

Ed Archie Noisecat (Salish/Shuswap) has been inspired by the thunderbird and has produced images in various media, including fused glass. He says, “My work is inspired by the stories that comprise my life—the people, tricksters, tragedies and triumphs of the Indig

enous experience. I work in many media, including wood, bronze, silver, gold, glass, print and more. My work is intimate, intricate and vivid, and I take immense pride in my craft.”Dan Friday (Lummi), Aunt Fran’s Star Basket. Credit: Russell Johnston; photo courtesy Friday Glass, Shoreline, Washington.

Tony Jojola (Isleta) and Ira Lujan (Taos) at Prairie Dog Glass, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Credit: Cathy Short, Lizard Light Productions.

MIAC notes, “Visitors will be introduced to new ways to think about their artistic lineages, knowledge and practices. Together, the exhibition’s diverse array of glass artists will provide visitors with a new understanding of what Native art is and can be by exploring themes of innovation, tradition and continuity.” 

Opens April 18, 2021
Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass

Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
710 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(505) 476-1269, www.indianartsandculture.org

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