Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation
Detroit Institute of Arts
Through April 6, 2026
When I interviewed Detroit Anishinaabe rapper SouFy a few years back, what most struck me was his emphasis on not romanticizing Indigenous people as “sacred” or “traditional.”
“We are also rappers, hip-hop artists, and graphic designers, and we order pizza from the same place that you do,” he told me at the time. “We’re staying grounded in our traditions, but we are still people living in this modern world. And don’t group us all up either. There are over 500 tribes in America.”
His words reverberated in my head when I visited Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Oct. 13). Most museum exhibits on Native American art are in the historical sense, as if these people no longer exist. These exhibits display sacred items that a museum probably shouldn’t possess in the first place (though the DIA has made efforts to return such items), and aren’t presented with the same respect given to European art. Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation, flips that on its head. It avoids pigeonholing what is and isn’t Native art, and instead, focuses on appreciating Anishinaabe artists for their craftsmanship.
The Contemporary Anishinaabe Art exhibit displays vibrant culture, painstaking artistry, and layers of Indigenous identity. You won’t find ceremonial regalia here. Instead there’s photography, paintings, basketweaving, sculptures, clothing, and film by modern Anishinaabe artists. The Anishinaabe are the original people of the Great Lakes region and include the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples, who still inhabit this land.
Here we get to see Norval Morrisseau’s Woodland style paintings up close, characterized by bold colors, thick lines, and depictions of plants, animals, and spirits. He inspired generations of Anishinaabe artists like Detroit’s Hadassah GreenSky, who paints in Morrisseau’s Woodland style.
Shirley Brauker’s “Earth Mother (venus feminine power)” sculpture is an homage to the 30,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf figure found in Austria. It doesn’t look like what the casual viewer may associate with Anishinaabe art, but the artist dedicates the goddess figure to her grandmother.
The exhibit includes more than 90 works from over 60 artists and is the first major Native American art exhibition at the DIA in more than 30 years, according to the museum. Art titles and descriptions are displayed in both English and Anishiaabemowin, the original language, and the DIA estimates it is one of the largest presentations of contemporary Native American art in the Midwest.
During a book talk at the DIA for her latest effort, Sisters in the Wind, Michigan Ojibwe author Angeline Boulley said that it’s important for her to discuss Native issues in her books — like the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)and Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) — while also humanizing Indigenous people and showing the beauty in their lives. Contemporary Anishinaabe Art also strikes this balance.
Marcella Hadden presents a photograph dedicated to the MMIW crisis while David Dominic Jr.’s work captures rock and metal musicians like Iggy Pop and Detroit’s Temple of Void. Whether they are discussing political issues or not, they are skillful photos. The complexity of Native identity cannot be summarized only in the historic genocide and cultural decimation Indigenous people have experienced and continue to experience. It’s how their traditions live on in everyday life like watching grandma make intricate beadwork at the kitchen table, as Brauke describes, or harvesting maple sugar. It’s also going to a rock concert on a Saturday night.
Patrick DesJarlait’s “Maple Sugar Time” watercolor painting shows the tradition of harvesting maple sap, boiling it down, and creating sugar in a style akin to Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry Murals,” a permanent fixture of the museum. Jonathan Thunder paints the Ojibwe legend Mishibizhiw (an underwater panther-like spirit) and its rival the thunderbird. But here they are playing pool in a nightclub while a DJ wearing an otter hat and bandolier bags spins records in the background. The painting is an ode to Anishinaabe writer and storyteller Basil Johnston who published numerous books about Ojibway heritage and stories. He is depicted in front of a typewriter in the painting, which is titled “Basil’s Dream.”
One striking piece in the exhibit’s clothing collection is a corset and skirt ensemble by Jillian Waterman embellished with Bear Island flint corn. The corn at the bottom of the skirt forms a message, “Bury me and watch me grow.”
A statement on the piece by Waterman reads, in part, “I am the land I walk on. I am the water I consume. I am the collective of my ancestors and the cosmos… I am the corn seed I feed upon, and just like that seed, I must adventure into the darkness to grow.”
This exhibit is massive. It requires several visits, or one visit across several hours to appreciate each piece. Hopefully it doesn’t take another 30 years for another like it to come along.
On display through April 6, 2026 at the Detroit Institute of Arts; 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; dia.org. Visitors with tribal identification can receive free admission to the DIA during the exhibit’s run. Museum admission is always free for residents of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.
This article was published in conjunction with the Detroit Metro Times.
