An Epilogue
In a world that is satisfied with delusion, half truths, broken promises, non-accountability, and an ever present god-complex, the work of the enlightened artist is urgent. It is our responsibility to reflect the world back to itself using the tools of our trades, ousting revisionist history and becoming storytellers of truth. With our platforms, we share a vision for a more natural world so close we can nearly touch it. We use color to reconnect to the Old-Ways. We use language to stitch together the memories of our peoples, once tattered but never wavering. We use clay, water, fire, wood, canvas, and breath as lessons no classroom could contain.
Art can be a guide, a bridge between birthplace and Motherland. Artists can be healers, whose work is the balm for a heartsick, mindsick world. Art can be a vehicle of response and requiem.
My sisters, Leah and Callie, and I chose to honor and bring awareness to the victims of Missing and Murdered Indigenous people as this year’s SendFlowersTo art outpouring. As a reconnecting Indigenous woman with only 14 years of practice, I knew that this project would be humbling, but I wasn’t prepared for just how emotional it would be. As a matter of fact, I reached a point in my research where I could have chosen, for my own comfort, to remain on the surface of my study, never truly becoming immersed. I just knew that wasn’t enough, so into the depths I went with my sisters as research partners and fellow artists. As we connected the dots between Western and US histories, the continued maltreatment of Indigenous peoples, and the all-too-overlooked truth about broken treaties between sovereign Indigenous nations and the US government, the scope of the MMIW/P crisis revealed itself to me as a monstrous oppressor. . But what is so maddening is that the mainstream chooses to reward the marginalized with their gaze only for a moment until they feel enough pity has been shown. I call this the Great-Moving-On.
The truth is the data which reflects violence against Indigenous peoples continues to stalk statistics. But, to understand the crisis we must learn in more animated terms and in rich anecdotes. Leah, Calile, and I got to learn from women who are doing tireless work teaching the larger community about the crisis, but their work does not end in the education space. I gleaned from the knowledge of Sarah Adams-Cornell (Matriarch), a fellow Chahta woman who creates space for Indigenous people who are seeking to reconnect to cultural knowledge that was not made accessible by one’s family. I was inspired by Carmen Harvie (Missing and Murdered Indigenous People State Chapter of Oklahoma), another fellow Chahta woman who courageously advocates for the missing by providing public services for the families of MMIW/P victims. I learned from Rochelle Red Bone Arebalo’s (MMIW Indian Capital) beautiful posture of care as she used every resource available to advocate for MMIW/P victims. She even took meetings via phone as she drove to participate in searches for the missing. I felt kindred with and honored to work with Fawn Tsatoke (MMIP-Kiowa Chapter) who is a victim of the MMIW/P crisis and lives to tell the story with much urgency and desire for systemic change. They animate the MMIW/P movement with their every hour, dollar, tear, dream, and vision.
As one could imagine, I have been humbled again and again by how significant this project is to my career, not only as an artist, but as an Indigenous woman. With every story we were told, we received it with reverence. With every hour my sisters and I processed flowers late into the night, we tearfully acknowledged that each stem was donated. Every moment we invited the mainstream community to learn about that which oppresses our Indigenous community we prayed our bravery would yield anything but apathy from those reading our words, watching our videos, and joining us at First Americans Museum on the weekend of MMIW/P National Awareness.
It is my continued prayer that those who strive to be harmless and good would feel compelled to respond to that which is violent and painful in this world with dutiful action beyond comfort, preference, or personal boundaries. Beyond listening and learning. Please do not misunderstand my words. Listening and learning to the oppressed is merely the start and a good start at that. But, to drop off, become disinterested, or allow self-centeredness, only fuels violence against us. It secures the oppressors footing right where they stand. Don’t stop there! Listen, learn, then follow us —with plow in hand— right toward our rightful sovereignty and liberation!
In our efforts this Spring, The Wild Mother Creative Studio has been delighted to work alongside relatives and allies who have trusted our storytelling, vision, and leadership as we’ve presented SendFlowersToMMIW. We have reached the end of this installment of SendFlowersTo and have so many people to thank, from the farmers to the curators to the designers who saw this work through!
Yakoke, First Americans Museum, for your collaboration and hospitality. Our floral installations could not have had a better home for the MMIW/P awareness weekend!
Yakoke, 4 Directions MMIP, Cheyenne & Arapaho MMIP Chapters, Matriarch, MMIP Apache Chapter of Oklahoma, MMIP Central Chapter, MMIP Kiowa Chapter, MMIW Indian Capital, Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women, Oklahoma Indian Legal Services, and Unite the People for your collaborative spirit as we created a space for our collective storytelling. My sisters and I are humbled to have worked with you!
Yakoke, Golden Flowers, Brightland Floral Distributors, Afloral, Mayesh, New Age Floral, and Accent Decor for every last stem and hard good you donated toward our public art and community care.
Yakoke, Urban Native Era, Cheekbone Beauty, Thundervoice Hat Co., Therapy Notebooks, Kate McLeod, Poppy and Pout, Seedlings, Bob’s Red Mill, Tony’s Chocolonley, Unreal Chocolate, Trader Joe’s, and Harney & Sons for your care of our volunteers. Your gifts we received with such delight!
Yakoke, PLENTY Mercantile, Britta Newton Tarron & Co., The Social Order, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop for making this year’s Strawberry Dinner so sweet.
Yakoke, Jessica Austin, for lending your talents as a photographer in capturing the events at First American Museum and our Strawberry Dinner on May 7th, 2022.
Yakoke, Stephanie Montelango and Lily Painter for collaborating with our sister-team in creating poetic storytelling around the MMIW/P crisis. It is truly refreshing to work alongside relatives.
Yakoke, Emily Enabnit Design and Oklahoma Shirt Company, for lending your skill, artistry, products and precious time as we created a merch line fit for the MMIW/P movement.
Yakoke, Skye Latimer for lending your marketing skill as we used social media as a storytelling medium.
Yakoke, Oklahoma Visual Arts Commission, for your support of our public art and community care.
And, Yakoke, to the thousands of you who trust me and my sisters as artists and discerning women as we humbly lead in community care and collective healing—a work like nothing I have ever known. I will continue my posture as a student of this precious life, sounding the call when it is time again to midwife Art as medicine.
In reciprocity,
Lauren Palmer
Principal Designer
The Wild Mother Creative Studio
