ABSTRACT
History has not been kind to Indigenous women. Like a fungus, colonialism attacks the roots of their sovereignty and leadership. From the formation of damaging policies to public demonizing, Indigenous women’s bodies have been attacked, rendered embarrassing, labeled as wrong, or emptied of identity. In the face of current and ongoing legacies of colonization, Indigenous women’s voices are resurfacing and regaining power. Resilient Indigenous scholars, writers, artists, and community members are changing narratives and inspiring a resurgence of Indigenous activism, often with Indigenous women and two-spirit peoples at the fore.
This chapter uses a case study to consider performance-based practices, the role of traditional knowledge in curation, as well as Indigenous theories of refusal, recognition, and resurgence. In October 2017, the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art in Winnipeg, Manitoba, held a large exhibition titled Entering the Landscape, with 21 participating artists, curated by Jenifer Papararo and Sarah Nesbitt. Through photographic, performative, and installation-based works, Entering the Landscape focused on relationships between the body and the land. Stemming from this exhibition, this chapter unfolds as a way to think through the unbodying of Indigenous women and the possibilities for acts of rebodying in museum and gallery spaces.
