Tahila and Dakota are two indigenous visual artists whose work amplifies and visualizes the narratives of indigenous communities across the Americas. In this episode, Tahila and Dakota discuss how they have challenged a predominantly and historically white point of view within the photographic industry by way of their artistic practices.

Through their extensive work they have become important ambassadors for their communities by exploring themes of family lineage, community and identity, all within the context of their ancestral land. Their work is currently being exhibited at Photoville.

Bios:

Dakota Mace (Diné) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on translating the language of Diné history and beliefs. Mace received her MA and MFA degrees in Photography and Textile Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her BFA in Photography from the Institute of American Indian Arts. As a Diné (Navajo) artist, her work draws from the history of her Diné heritage, exploring the themes of family lineage, community, and identity. In addition, her work pushes the viewer's understanding of Diné culture through alternative photography techniques, weaving, beadwork, and papermaking.

Her work as an artist and scholar has been exhibited nationally and internationally at various conferences, collectives, museums, and galleries, including Textile Society of America, Weave a Real Peace, Indigenous Photograph, 400 Year Project, Wright Art Museum, Contemporary Arts Center, Kemper Museum of Art, and the Wallach Art Gallery. She is represented by Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York City. www.dakotamace.com

Tahila Mintz works across multiple platforms to amplify the voices of Indigenous people and the natural world. She is an Indigenous Yoeme and Jewish woman who focuses on ancestral relationships, gender equilibrium, contemporary Indigenous issues, and recuperating knowledge that has been unraveled by colonialism. She is a Water Protector and a Land Guardian whose home is in her Yoeme community in Sonora and in the Haudenosaunee territory of upstate, NY.

She has been photographing for 20+ years, in over 40 countries, and received her MFA from the University of Texas. She is a Photographer, Film Maker, Cultural Technologist, Ancestral Scribe, and the Founding Executive Director of OJI: SDA’s Sustainable Indigenous Futures. Her organization creates an ancestral knowledge land-based curriculum for k-12, runs a media-intensive summer camp for Indigenous youth, and provides disaster relief and other models of community support. www.tahila.net

Episode Credits

Episode: Tahila Mintz and Dakota Mace

Podcast Editor: Claudia Leisinger

Introduction: Nicola Muirhead

Music: Ana Maria Arévalo Gosen (composition), Philipp Quante (piano), Bobby G (drums)

Podcast Team: Claudia Leisinger, Lina Collado, and Nicola Muirhead.

Links and Resources:

Indigenous Youth Media Camp: https://www.ojisda.org/mochik-ania-camp-turtle

400 Years Project: https://www.400yearsproject.org/

Our show at Photoville JUNE 4-26: https://photoville.nyc/exhibition/made-in-land/ (we are directly under the Brooklyn Bridge)

Photoville in general: https://photoville.nyc/