GAEA, 2021

This photograph features our daughter Crickett Tiger, (Muscogee Creek/Cochiti) photographed on the California Coast donning Leah Mata-Fragua’s highly innovative all-Indigenous ballet dance wear. Custom made for Crickett, the outfit features a corset made of feathers and adorned with hand-cut abalone, a Russian-style skirt made of willow bark, tule cordage straps, and point shoes painted with red ochre. The photograph is a celebration of Mother Earth, women of color dancers, and Indigenous futurism aesthetics in classical dance. Leah and I, both California Native women, living and working in Santa Fe, often come together in cultural exchange to co-create images that are rooted in our shared histories and experiences to bring critical visibility to California First Peoples through our respective arts.

Collections: Denver Art Museum, Nordamerika Native Museum (Switzerland)