Yesterday was Indigenous People's Day. Let's chat about Contested Landscapes: Federal Indian Reservations Through the Lens of Wendy Red Star’s “My Home is Where My Tipi Sits”

In the United States, there are three types of reserved federal lands:  military, public, and Indian (Bureau of Indian Affairs 2017). The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is responsible for providing housing and assistance to Indian Reservations across the country. These post-Trail of Tears reservations were the result of the 1851 Indian Appropriations Act (History.com Editors 2023) – an attempt to control Indigenous peoples and their land by moving them to specific pieces of government-funded land. The goal was Western expansion and Native Americans stood in the way of that. As a result, these tribes were forced out of their customs and traditions and were told that the government would take care of them in this “temporary” transitional phase of life. Little did they know that these communities would be trapped on these reservations and that escaping could be a grave mistake (Red Road Project 2024). Almost 200 years after this forced displacement, these reservations are still upheld by HUD, but little has changed in terms of quality of life for the people who live on them. Many reservations are overcrowded and impoverished with little access to shopping centers, let alone access to healthcare, treatment or addiction, or mental health resources. 

Indian reservations are considered contested landscapes because there is an ongoing debate about what the government’s intentions were when they chose to control tribes in this way, as well as what continues to happen to these dwindling groups of people when HUD refuses to acknowledge the devastation happening in these homes. To this day, the Indian Affairs section of the official website of the U.S. Department of the Interior does not mention the effects of the displacement of Native Americans. Whoever wrote the information on the website doubles down on the origin of reservations by stating that the purpose of these settlements is “an area of land reserved for a tribe or tribes under treaty or other agreement with the United States…where the federal government holds title to the land in trust on behalf of the tribe” (Bureau of Indian Affairs 2017). Not only is this misleading, but it paints a very different picture of what we know to be true in terms of hostility towards Indigenous people throughout the history of America.   

In the last 100 years or so, a growing number of Indigenous artists, like Juane Quick-to-See-Smith and James Luna, are using their creative talents to spread a visual message about the realities of what it means to be a Native American. Wendy Red Star, an Apsáalooke (Crow) artist from Montana, grew up in Crow Reservation life. On October 1st, it was announced that she is the recipient of the 2024 MacArthur Fellowship– this is a huge deal in the world of art and should signal in our minds she has something intensely important to say. Her work heavily emphasizes the colonial ideas of what it means to be an Indigenous person versus the reality of what it has become. These are some of the least celebrated people in the United States, they were made to be forgotten in the new age of America. 

My Home is Where My Tipi Sits is a series of five classifications of Crow Reservation life: broken down “rez” (reservation) cars, sweat lodges, brightly colored government housing, churches, and signs. The title of the work is a statement in and of itself about the state of this mass disruption of cultural communities. Sometimes home is not where the heart is, especially when it feels like “home” is attached to centuries of unkept promises from people in power. Interestingly, while it feels like this mandatory assimilation of Indigenous people strips tribes of their individuality, each image in the grid was chosen for what makes it stand out. It recontextualizes the effects of colonization by isolating fonts on road signs, colors of houses, spray-painted x’s, and busted windows on cars. When asked about why she chooses to highlight this tribal territory, she states, “...these are my people. This is my community. This is my family, and these are their homes and lives” (Red Star 2024).

My Home Is Where My Tipi Sits (Rez Cars), 2011 

Series of 5 Archival pigment prints, 52 x 72 inches each

Edition of 4

My Home Is Where My Tipi Sits (Signs), 2011 

Series of 5 Archival pigment prints, 52 x 72 inches each

Edition of 4

Landscape Post #1 - Hunsicker

@fasc1nate 

A Land of Fire and Brimstone 

The Hidden Story of Centralia, Pennsylvania, an Invisible Landscape 

 

The small town of Centralia has one of the most unique, if not beautiful, histories few know about. This town is in the beautiful embrace of the Appalachian Mountains, an area where you can see many abandoned coal mining facilities. Even though the geography of this area is beautiful, the most essential information to know is related to the history behind this small and, on the surface, unsuspecting town. To find this information, one must look back to its founding in 1866 as a significant hub for the coal mining industry, as stated in the article “About Centralia PA and the Mine Fire.” Coal mining was common back then, with many people having the profession as their livelihood and the source of their income. This profession was further pushed as the coal boom of the late 1800s and early 1900s helped the economy of the United States. Sadly, at present, many do not know the history of Centralia and the mistakes that turned this once bustling town into a ghost town. 

In the early years of Centralia, we saw a flourishing, vibrant community as the population quickly grew from its original population of 1,300 in 1866 to 2,800 residents 25 years later (Centralia Borough, Pennsylvania). The town also had, "two theaters, five hotels, seven churches, twenty-seven saloons, one bank, one post office, and fourteen general/grocery stores” (About Centralia PA). It can be assumed that it was part of the lure for families hoping to move, make it big, and claim the American Dream that many wished for during that time. Based on this information, Centralia seems like a place taken straight from a fairytale, the perfect place on Earth. But all good things ended, which is what happened with Centralia. 

Centralia began as your standard coal mining town, though after the coal collapse in the 60s (“History of Centralia PA Before 1962”). The coal mining companies being the main source of income for most of the town, the population would naturally start spiraling down. But on the fateful day of May 27th, 1962, the local firefighters had set “the town landfill on fire to clean it up. This was in preparation for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday.” (About Centralia PA). Now, this ordinary landfill that was set on fire was not just some random area where people threw things away. It was above an abandoned mine that, when burned, would cause a health crisis. Carbon monoxide began to make its way into the dwellings of the inhabitants as well as holes in the ground opening up swallowing places whole, these reasons caused a volunteer project in 1984 to move civilians away from the dangers of Centralia, this allowed for the buying of property for much of the town's population (About Centralia PA).  

This landscape that so many people do not even know about and if they do, they will not know the full history of this place. Shortly after the 1984 program to move civilians away from the town of Centralia, the Pennsylvania government used the powers of eminent domain in 1992 to try to take control and move residents out of the town for the residents’ health. When residents heard about this, they decided the only course of action was to sue (About Centralia PA). This would make a landmark case about state, local, and constitutional rights. After heavy legal proceedings, we saw the definitive answer in 2013, where eight residents were allowed to stay as long as they lived (About Centralia PA). This population would obviously fall as those eight people died out, but thanks to one major source of information, the internet, we can still look back and find the lost historical data of Centralia, Pennsylvania. As of the most relevant Census data from the United States government, in 2022, only five people are staying in the town (Centralia Borough, Pennsylvania). 

The story of Centralia, Pennsylvania paints a picture of a town that was vibrant and full of hope and prosperity. Due to a set of circumstances that many of the residents could not control, the town became a modern ghost town, all the buildings have been destroyed, and the only thing that remains are five poor souls, waiting for their time to run out. Centralia is truly a place of fire and brimstone, a Hell on Earth. 

Works Cited 

“About Centralia PA and the Mine Fire.” Centralia PA, 2 Sept. 2014, https://www.centraliapa.org/about-centralia-pa-mine-fire/.  

“Centralia Borough, Pennsylvania.” Census, 2022, https://data.census.gov/profile/Centralia_borough_Pennsylvania?g=160XX00US4212312.  

@fasc1nate. X (Formerly Twitter), 5 Aug. 2015, https://x.com/fasc1nate/status/1687886642647109632.  

“History of Centralia PA Before 1962.” Centralia PA, 13 Sept. 2014, https://www.centraliapa.org/history-centralia-pa-before-1962/.