Indigo, cochineal, red earth, and corn pollen: these are among some of the traditional materials used in the art of Dakota Mace (Diné), Kéyah Keenan Henry (Diné), and Daisy Trudell-Mills (Santee Dakota, Mexican, and Jewish) in the Naaldeeh exhibition at the Bosque Redondo Memorial. 

Dakota Mace is a nationally renowned artist and instructor at the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. In creating work for the Bosque Redondo Memorial, Dakota invited her students, Kéyah and Daisy, to create works alongside her that would speak history of the place and the suffering endured by the Diné people during the Long Walk and their four-year internment at Fort Sumner. 

Encounter Culture host Emily Withnall invited the three artists to speak about their art, the history of Bosque Redondo, and the ways art can provide healing for the Diné and Ndé whose histories are tied to the land. 

Many Diné people grew up with warnings from elders to never travel to Bosque Redondo Memorial. Some continue to hold this warning to heart, and some, like Dakota and Kéyah, offer their art in prayer. For Daisy, the stories of the homesickness that the Diné and Ndé experienced at Bosque Redondo resonated deeply. 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

EC0202: Listen, and Speak the Truth: Collaborating Through Conversation on the Bosque Redondo Memorial with Manuelito Wheeler and Aaron Roth

El Palacio: Challenging History: The Conception and Crafting of A World-Class Exhibition That Honors One of New Mexico's Darkest Chapters

Dakota Mace

Daisy Trudell-Mills

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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine

Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann

Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz

Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe

Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler

Theme Music: D’Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture

For more, visit podcast.nmculture.org.