Performers dance to seemingly unlikely soundtracks.
Tsu Héidei Shugaxtutaan translates to We will again open this container of wisdom that has been left in our care. The work is named for the song being danced in by the non-Tlingit dancer. Galanin suggests opening containers of wisdom to create connection between generations as contribution to living culture. This work embodies celebration of culture and the necessity of contribution over consumption. In this early work Galanin explores song, dance, language, as intersecting streams to carry cultural continuum. The work asserts Tlingit song and dance as contemporary and relevant, blending them seamlessly with contemporary song and dance as a beacon for what is possible when culture is allowed to grow and expand to navigate new circumstances. Rather than a juxtaposition of time or place, the video expands both by weaving together image, sound and motion.
In Part 1, well-known contemporary dancer David Elsewhere “pops” to the traditional Tlingit song Tsu Heidei Shugaxtutaan, which translates to “We Will Again Open This Container of Wisdom That Has Been Left in Our Care,” the title for the video series. Song and dance have long been a part of indigenous culture and often play a central role in ceremonies and gatherings that cultivate relationships with families, friends, ancestors, and the supernatural world.
Part 2 features traditional Native American dancer Dan Littlefield performing a Raven Dance to a heavy electronic beat, a song composed by the artist and seemingly inspired by video games. The beautiful and intricate Eagle and Raven wall screen was carved by Galanin s uncle and resides at the Community House in Sitka, Alaska, Galanin s home town. The dancer performs a Raven Dance wearing traditional regalia and wielding a Raven Rattle, a representation of power and authority. The Raven is a prevalent symbol in Native American culture--a paradoxical figure that manifests as hero, trickster, creator, and perhaps most importantly for Galanin, transformer.
Until the 1960s, Native American Art, along with other indigenous art forms, was traditionally exhibited as romanticized anthropological artifact. Objects were viewed chronologically, geographically, and ethnographically, sentimentalized and defined by Western colonization as “the other.” Indigenous art was grouped as a whole and considered part of a traditional past that precluded change, adaptation, or individualism. In the present day, many artists assert their cross-cultural uniqueness through an exploration of past traditions, present influences, and future opportunities.
'Culture cannot be contained as it unfolds. My art enters this stream at many different points, looking backwards, looking forwards, generating its own sound and motion. I am inspired by generations of Tlingit; Unangax̂ creativity and contribute to this wealthy conversation through active curiosity. There is no room in this exploration for the tired prescriptions of the 'Indian Art World' and its institutions. Through creating I assert my freedom.' -Nicholas Galanin
Hybridity is a propelling force in Galanin s work--an exploration of his traditional past melded with contemporary influences. Through transmutation and paradox, the artist invokes the historic and the now, integrating art and life as a bridge of new creation. In his own words, “It is not a rejection or an embracing; we can be whoever we want to be or choose, embracing ourselves.”
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