Last December, Inanna McCarty applied and was accepted to Spokane Falls Community College's sƛ̓ xẹ tkʷ artist-in-residence program. This new residency focused on showcasing and uplifting Indigenous art is the first of its kind in the region.
The program also marks a few firsts for McCarty, who also goes by her tribal name, kaowiš tyee. The artist is from the waa and Tsawout First Nations village and a descendant of both Nuu-chah-nulth and Coast Salish families who was raised on the homelands of the Makah Tribe in Western Washington. Not only has she never undertaken an art residency before, but McCarty says she's never even applied for one until this opportunity arose.
"I just figured there's no hurt in trying, and we'll see what happens. I definitely was not expecting to be chosen at all," McCarty says. "I'm really grateful and honored and humbled that I was chosen."
As part of the residency, which is funded by a Spokane Arts Grant Award (SAGA) and the Spokane Colleges, she will have full access to SFCC's new fine arts building's facilities throughout her three-month tenure. She's also utilizing the building's Fine Art Gallery through April 30 to show a collection of her work.
Although McCarty had never before applied for a residency, she's no stranger to the visual arts. When she was growing up, her mom taught her traditional Indigenous arts, such as beading and weaving. Her dad, a master wood carver known for his Northwest Coast art style, taught her his trade, too.
Growing up around all of these artists inspired her to keep growing her craft, so she taught herself how to paint and began working on digital design and photography. While McCarty's medium may differ on any given day, each piece she creates is rooted deeply in her Native heritage.
Each of her pieces are vivid illustrations often depicting the stories she grew up hearing from her elders. One piece, "The Two Beings Who Changed Things," depicts a two-headed, red-and-black silhouette reflecting the story of the two beings, the sun and the moon in McCarty's interpretation, who brought life to all the beings that inhabited the world.
Five generations ago, McCarty's ancestors signed the Makah Treaty, otherwise known as the Treaty of Neah Bay. Unlike any other tribal treaty, this one secured tribal members' right to hunt whales.
McCarty says that while whaling is a contentious topic in the world, the practice is often at the forefront of her mind when she's creating.
"I was about a year old when we had the [1999] whale hunt, and for my dad that's how he got his start in tribal politics," she explains. "It's been a huge cultural identity and ... a lot of our visual designs that we have are informed by that background and by that practice."
One of the projects she hopes to complete during the residency is a copper repoussé sculpture of a whale saddle. Imagine a form-fitting piece of armor laid over the whale's dorsal fin.
"Back in the day, one of the many items that was a part of a chief or a whaler's regalia was a wooden carved whale saddle. That was inlaid, typically with either wolf or beaver teeth in and on the saddle," she explains.
Traditionally copper has been seen as a symbol of wealth by the Coast Salish tribes, so making the sculpture out of the material, she says, feels like another way to honor her culture.
While she's not sure if the project is feasible due to her lack of metalworking experience, McCarty says she's looking forward to working with other fine artists at the college who are experienced in metalsmithing, such as instructor Peter Jagoda, who's been teaching the medium at the college since 1998.
"All of the metalsmithing that I have done up to this point has been pretty much self-taught with no guidance whatsoever," she says. "It's not that I haven't been successful with some of the stuff that I have done, but to just get a better idea of what it is that I'm doing that will help make the process smoother or more refined."
McCarty's time in Spokane will be filled with personal growth, but she also hopes her art can help cultivate a community that can recognize the symbolism in Indigenous art more readily.
"These things mean something to us as a people, and they mean something greatly to all of the different families and tribes around the area. [This] program is really great, too, because it heals old historical wounds that have been present with tribal nations and our art," she says. "You know, historically, all of the stuff that you see in museums or galleries that's not made within this last century was either stolen or bought, and we don't really have access to that anymore. It's a healing experience for not just myself, but for that historical mistrust that exists with native peoples and institutions." ♦
Inanna McCarty • Through April 30, open Mon-Fri from 8:30 am-3:30 pm • Free • SFCC Fine Arts Gallery • 3410 W. Whistalks Way • sfcc.spokane.edu
