NYC Gazette

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled its long-term installation, "Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection," featuring historical and contemporary works by Native American artists from across the United States and Canada. The collection includes pieces from more than fifty Indigenous groups, showcasing major Native American aesthetic forms such as painting, drawing, sculpture, textiles, quill and bead embroidery, basketry, and ceramics.

These works highlight the diversity of Native life and offer complex perspectives on America’s past, emphasizing the significance of these artworks to both Native and non-Native communities today. Most items date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and include functional and symbolic artifacts, such as items intended to be worn, used for nourishment, hunting, defense, protection, childcare, and wellness. The collection extends to modern and contemporary pieces, reflecting enduring aesthetic traditions amidst Euro-American colonialism and environmental challenges. The artifacts are organized into seven geographical regions: Woodlands, Northwest Coast, Arctic, Plateau, Plains, Southwest, and California and Great Basin.

Many of the pieces in this installation are gifts, donations, and loans from major collectors Charles and Valerie Diker, alongside contributions from other patrons. Their aim is to enhance historical, cultural, and aesthetic understandings through these artworks. The presentation aligns with the American Wing's mission, established in 1924, to emphasize Native cultural expressions within inclusive contexts.

Patricia Marroquin Norby, Associate Curator of Native American Art in the Met’s American Wing, expressed a commitment to ongoing relationships with Native American and Indigenous artists. She stated, "We understand that these items—vibrant expressions of Native sovereignty, identity, and connections to community and family—embody intergenerational and environmental knowledge, including origin stories, languages, songs, dances, and ties to homelands." Norby affirmed the Met's dedication to continuous collaboration with Indigenous communities, ensuring that Native American art is presented with guidance from source communities.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additionally, it is complemented by "Artistic Encounters with Indigenous America," previously displayed at The Met Fifth Avenue.

The museum recognizes the historical and contemporary environmental issues in the New York region and aims to reflect on its institutional legacy and its impact on the original peoples of the area. Tantoo Cardinal, from the Metis Nations of Canada, guides visitors through the collection, sharing insights from Indigenous artists and curators. She appreciates the support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and acknowledges the exhibit’s location on the ancestral lands of the Lenape Indians.