Inspired by the 1983 poem Remember by United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, this exhibition features the artwork of contemporary Indigenous women of Oklahoma. Their works evoke themes of history, memory, and identity. Together the [different mediums] capture the literary spirit of the poem; the experience of discovering one’s self and place in the universe, reflecting on our connections to the natural world, and remembering the ancestors that make us who we are.
Remember by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke)
Remember the sky that you were born under, know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the strongest point of time. Remember sundown and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled to give you form and breath. You are evidence of her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are: red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them, listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people are you.
Remember you are this universe and this universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.
