Clementine Bordeaux

The purpose of my dissertation project is to demonstrate a Lakota cultural relationship with land that is communicated through the creation of art. I use ontology as a guide for my analysis of art practices to ensure that I thoroughly employ Lakota ways of knowing. Previous Lakota art scholarship addresses craft practices and often does not include fine art conversations; while on the other hand examinations of fine art often neglect ontological dialogue. I will use an autoethnographic approach to focus myself and my engagement as a researcher to specific geographic sites of relational significance. I will present an ethnography of artists, cultural bearers, and community members to address an understanding of place through art production. I will utilize oral stories/histories, visual artifacts, culture documents, archival material, and personal adornment. I will shape the gathering of data through an intergenerational and cultural engagement to the work as a Lakota woman, scholar, artist, and language learner. My methods will allow me to explore the artistry of everyday Lakota skill as embedded in relationality, reciprocity, and shared joy of place The goal of the dissertation is to advance the understanding of the relationship between art and land within Lakota culture.