Contributed by Maine Historical Society
Description
This leather “American Eagle” brand jacket recalls a deep history to the past, and asserts that whatever a Native person is wearing—a beaded dress, jeans, a designer gown, or a painted jacket—they are “Indian.”
Gina Brooks is Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) from the St. Mary’s First Nation in Canada. She reclaims the power of the word—Indian—that was spoken to her family as an insult, using it instead in terms of the honor of being an Indian woman.
The jacket represents Brooks’s journey to recover lost opportunities due to years of colonialism, and recognizes a deeper relationship with spirituality, women’s leadership, obligations to the land, and language revitalization. Painted on the jacket are the words, "Indian", "Sacred", and the numbers "01/50" reflecting the Canadian government's categorization of Native people as being full (01) or half (50) Native--a system that is not supported by the Tribes.
About This Item
- Title: Gina Brooks "Indian" jacket, Fredericton, New Brunswick, 2018
- Creator: Gina Brooks
- Creation Date: 2018
- Subject Date: 2018
- Location: St. Mary’s First Nation , Fredericton, NB, Canada
- Media: Leather, Acetate, Nylon, Acrylic paint
- Dimensions: 76.8 cm x 77.5 cm
- Local Code: 2019.016
- Object Type: Physical Object
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For more information about this item, contact:
Maine Historical Society485 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
(207) 774-1822 x230
Website
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.
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