February 14, 2020: Bodéwadmi Wisgat Gokpenagen | The Black Ash Baskets of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Opening

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Director of the Newark Earthworks Center John Low (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi) and Director of the American Indian Studies Program Daniel Rivers (Choctaw) will speak. 

February 14, 2020

3 - 6 PM

Food and drink will be served; come help us celebrate AIS at OSU!

Free and open to the public.

Sullivant Hall Collaboratory 141

1813 N High Street

Columbus, OH 43210

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According to exhibit curator John N. Low, PhD, Potawatomi basket making is a reclamation and recovery of a piece of native knowledge and technology, and it represents a potent counter-colonial and counter-hegemonic act with lasting implications. Low is an Associate Professor of Comparative Studies at Ohio State Newark and an enrolled citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.

“This exhibit reflects an understanding that objects are not lifeless things that occupy space. They have spirit and meaning,” he said. “Centered upon intellectual and material property, basket weaving is an opportunity for native women and men to make their own histories by using the past to ‘read’ the present.”

The exhibit is sponsored by grants from The Ohio State University Global Arts and Humanities’ Indigenous Arts and Humanities Initiative, American Indian Studies program, Ohio State Newark Milliken Fund and the Newark Earthworks Center. 

“This is an opportunity to learn about and enjoy the artistry of American Indian peoples of the Midwest. The exhibit explores the ways in which objects like baskets communicate to those who take the time to ‘listen’,” said Low. “See the iconic black ash basketry of the Potawatomi Indians, and join in the celebration of the revival of this art.”

This exhibit was previously shown at the LeFevre Art Gallery on the Ohio State University Newark campus.

Director of the Newark Earthworks Center John Low received his PhD in American Culture from the University of Michigan. His most recent book, Imprints: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians & the City of Chicago, was published by the Michigan State University Press (2016).

For more information, visit: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8eV69DF545/ .