Indigenous: It depends how you look at it. What you call it. How you live it

Abstract

In this article, we use examples from contemporary Anishinaabe artist Rebecca Belmore and the works of the Spiderwoman Theater Troupe to explore how contemporary Indigenous artists in the Americas negotiate the representation of Indigenous identities, identities which are always performed and entangled in a mesh of geographical locations, cultural practices and ideological borders. Through their artistic productions, many Native artists and authors participate in a larger community of voices discussing what it means to be Indigenous in the Americas and what ethical responsibilities or commitments to community are entailed in and by their work.