Dakota Mace: Badahani (their stories)

November 5 – December 18, 2021

The vastness of Dinétah (the Diné homeland) is rich with the narratives that exist within the landscape. The Diné holds a close relationship to our home, and each area has sacred significance and places of stories.Diné visit these places to connect to our ancestors and connect with the powers of the land. Through these interrelated places, we never forget that we exist within a larger story, one that is part of a much larger living system that includes the water, earth, canyons, and plants. It is through these places that healing can begin.

It wasn’t until the passing of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978 that my own people were allowed the freedom to practice our ceremonies, collect sacred materials, and visit our sacred sites that have existed long before the birth of our nation. This is just one reminder of how very recently were the freedom of spiritual practices of the Americas’ Indigenous people were allowed and the trauma that resulted from it. Through my work, I provide the opportunity to heal and allow the land and it’s natural materials to tell our stories.

This exhibition is a continuation of looking at the importance of land and natural materials. Within the Diné culture, everything is central to the concept of four; four sacred mountains, four sacred colors, four sacred directions, and so on. This concept is still practiced today and can be seen in the art we create. It is believed that to understand the Diné, you must place yourself into the world of Diné tradition. Art is essential to our beliefs and is a lifeline to our culture, land, and the histories that are a part of our identity. With each connection, tradition remains central to the fundamental understanding of the Diné, a line between one generation to the next.

– Dakota Mace, November 2021