#indigenous histories

Gabriele Chaile (b1985) Argentina Centro Cultural Ambulante (2026)

the fact most of the series is in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi is 🤌

“The Kayanic Arts of Borneo: Adventures in Chronology and Authenticity” by Antonio J. Guerreiro & Steven G. Alpert — Art of The Ancestors | Island Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Global Tribal Art News

The page does not allow copy-and-pasting, but a few key points: (i) The Kayanic peoples of Borneo had an advanced knowledge of metallurgy, which translated into a diversity and specificity of carving tools (used in craft, architecture, canoe-carving, etc.) (ii) Museums/ collections/ archives that contain Kayanic Arts are not only located in Malaysian and Indonesian Borneo, but also in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Australia (iii) Many edifices created by the peoples of Western to Central Borneo have collapsed and been consumed by the jungle (iv) Physical characteristics of carved statues and coffins: large heads with bulging eye-sockets (often rounded or oblong in shape); protruding jaws; concave faces – possibly inspired by the Bronze Age period of the Dongson (Vietnam). There were trading patterns during this period that influenced the characteristics found in artefacts in the region (v) Metal artefacts in Borneo are not prehistoric or proto-historic; they were possibly made in/ around Brunei from the 14th to 19th centuries (vi) The carving styles of Bornean artefacts from that period display a synthesis that resulted from movement of peoples throughout the region (through trading, slavery, migration, etc.) (vii) “A category of zoo anthropomorphic spirits is also characteristically found in Kayanic sculpture” (vii) the craft of Western Kalimantan (Sarawak) and Eastern Borneo is regarded as less stylistically ambitious than their Central Bornean counterparts (viii) As a rule-of-thumb, artefacts made of ironwood (the material used mainly by the Dayak for statues and as building materials) were stated to survive no longer than a period of 150-200 years, due to the tropical climate in which they were located (ix) In the 1970s, a great number of Dayak statues began to appear in local and international markets; this overlapped with invasive logging, erosion, and periodic droughts in the area. (x) It is rare to find authentic “riverine” artefacts as most were damaged due to the proximity of their origin to rivers; tribes mainly set up their villages around rivers (xi) From the late 1950s to 1970s, the Indonesian presidents Sukarno and Suharto forbade the construction and use of longhouses (this was common housing for the indigenous peoples of Borneo). This coincided with the pressure of the last of the “traditionalists” to convert either to Christianity or Islam (Christianity is a major religion in Borneo, and Islam is the majority religion of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei [Borneo comprises Malaysian Borneo, Kalimantan (Indonesia), and the entirety of Brunei]). Many older carvings during this period were sold to Malay/ Bugis and/ or Chinese traders. (xii) Many indigenous carvers thus turned to other professions, disrupting this traditional practice. These practices were taken up again later, although modern pieces have marked aesthetic differences: they are “softer and have overall less visual impact” (xiii) From the 19th century onwards, there was a presence of pieces that were created solely for a Western market (xiv) Aside from Dayak carvers, many carvers of the contemporary age were/ are of Javanese, Bugis, and Chinese heritage; often they come from families who have lived in the area for multiple generations

With the understanding that I claim no expertise in indigenous North American histories, after having explored two museums in the Quebec City region, I notice that the interpretation is much more strident than anything I’ve seen in the States. Lots of active word choices about what Europeans did to indigenous communities, and the intergenerational trauma which exists as a result. Little passive word choice, and little of that trademark USA BUT WE PROSPERED NONETHELESS speech that all minorities seem obliged to use in their interpretations of their own histories. Just some observations.

Cultural History In Focus | “Kelirieng: The Vanishing Monumental Heritage of Sarawak” by Antonio J. Guerreiro — Art of The Ancestors | Island Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Global Tribal Art News

Among the most outstanding buildings which have been made in Sarawak, the burial poles have no direct parallels elsewhere in Borneo. Their importance is such that several lie in the collection of the Sarawak Museum. They have become an official Sarawak State gift to West Malaysia. Two poles, one Punan Ba and one Sekapan kelirieng, are now standing on the Muzium Negara grounds in Kuala Lumpur, while another one found its way to Brunei. Among the various peoples known as ‘Orang Ulu’ – Kayan, Kenyah, Kajang, Punan Ba and Berawan to name a few – and the Melanau local groups in the coastal areas, there is a wide range of wooden items showing carved ornamentation.

A 600-Year-Old Blueprint for Weathering Climate Change To support their new economies, Native North Americans instituted decentralized governing structures with a variety of political checks and balances to prevent dictatorial leaders from taking power and to ensure that all members of a society had a say. Power and prestige lay not in amassing wealth but in assuring that wealth was shared wisely, and leaders earned support in part by being good providers and wise distributors. Many polities established councils of elders and balanced power by pairing leaders, such as the war chief and the peace chief; setting up male and female councils; and operating under family-based clans that had members in multiple towns. In the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, for example, female clan leaders chose male representatives to the Confederacy Council and could replace them if they didn’t do right by the people. In most societies across North America, all of the people—women as well as men—had some say in important decisions such as choosing a new leader, going to war, or making peace. As the Anishinaabe historian Cary Miller wrote in her book Ogimaag: Anishinaabeg Leadership, 1760–1845 , Native American nonhierarchical political systems “were neither weak nor random but highly organized and deliberate.” anyway i think about this article at least once a week and i think everyone should go read it

NativeLand.ca