Iroquois Museum Opens 2020 Season with Identity/Identify 

Who is Haudenosaunee?  Who is not, and who gets to decide? These are the questions at the center of a thought-provoking new exhibit in the Iroquois Museum's main gallery. Praised as “quite timely” by the Oneida Trust & Enrollment Department in Wisconsin, Identity/Identify presents individual and collaborative artistic responses from across Iroquois Country that speak to these issues. The exhibit explores how definitions and designations of membership determine access to tribal and federal resources, rights, residency options, and other components of cultural and community participation.

Artwork from the Iroquois Museum's collection and work created specifically for the exhibit will address the political, often polarizing, issues surrounding blood quantum standards; the position and challenges of mixed race individuals; those whose connections to heritage are through their father's (rather than mother’s) lines; and those who grew up off reservation. 

The exhibit features video, sculpture, beadwork, mosaic, painting, and photography by Peter Jones, Hayden Haynes, and Michael Jones from Seneca territory; Margaret Jacobs, Natasha Smoke Santiago, and Ionawiienhawi Sargent from Akwesasne; Brenda Hill, Rick Hill, and Robert D’Alimonte from Tuscarora; Karen Ann Hoffman from Oneida, Wisconsin; Tahatie Montour, Angel Horn, and Danielle Soames from Kahnawake; Andrea Chrisjohn from Kingston, NY; Shelia Escobar and Lance Hodahkwen from Syracuse; Rosy Simas from Minneapolis; Ric Glazer Danay from California; and Melanie Printup Hope from Toronto. Identity/Identify runs through November 29, 2020 with an opening reception on May 2 with special guest writer and playwright Drew Hayden Taylor.  Curated by the Iroquois Museum with project consultants Andrea Chrisjohn and Melanie Printup Hope. 

The Iroquois Museum is located 40 miles west of Albany in Howes Cave, NY.  For hours and additional information, visit https://www.iroquoismuseum.org/2019-feature-exhibition or call 518.296.8949.

 Identity/Identify is made possible in part with support from Poets & Writers and a Humanities NY Action grant.