Early Indigenous Literatures

Dakota teachings as integral to art

Like Bonnin, Howe's art rests on its ties to his Nation's cultural survivace and artistic expression of sovereignty. Here, the lines Howe uses come from Očchéthi Šakówin aesthetics in which the "tahokmu" (spiderweb) technique is used (Harris 2). When asked, Howe rejected linking his art with cubism and marked it specifically within this conception which holds "both visual and spiritual significance for Dakota people" and creates effects of "electricity, energy, and movement" (Harris 2). Despite being about 50 years apart, Howe and Bonnin's work both utilize tactics which reiterate Dakota Yankton artistic and narrative sovereignties and help us to understand Yankton art contexts beyond just shared lineages of settler colonial violence and, instead, draw audiences to the continued survivance of Yankton National, political, and cultural values.

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