ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPH

This image was taken by Marjorie Skidders, a member of the Bear Clan in the Akwesasne Mohawk tribe. She is an award-winning photographer; many of her photos are on display in galleries across New York State. Graduating from St. Lawrence University in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in fine art, she went on to receive a master’s degree in education and pursued a career as a teacher. After twenty-five years of teaching, she pursued her art practice further, with a focus on the Mohawk people.

This print is a demonstration of the culture and perseverance of the Mohawk people. The young boy is adorned in traditional clothing. On his head rests a kastowa, a traditional Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) headdress, meant to signify which of the Six Nations one belongs to. The boy’s kastowa has three feathers sticking straight up, identifying him as Mohawk. The bear claw represents the Bear Clan, and the orange sash commemorates the Indigenous children who suffered trauma in government-run residential schools. His clothing is representative of the Mohawk culture and the struggles they have undergone. He stands in a field of invasive grass, representing the efforts of Indigenous peoples to protect the Adirondack region. The photograph was printed in 2021, a time when there was a push for conservation and environmental consciousness. In a time when this was such a large nationwide movement, Skidders focuses on the environmental degradation suffered in the St. Lawrence River Valley.  The young boy stands almost defiantly on a skateboard, fists clenched, but staring calmly off into the distance. The photograph demonstrates some of the challenges the Mohawk people have experienced, and how they are still present and thriving in the region. -Kayleigh McCullen ’28

Marjorie Kaniehtonkie Skidders
Looking into the Future, August 18, 2021
Archival inkjet print, 36 x 24 in.
Richard F. Brush Art Gallery
SLU 2023.11,