ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Ray Fadden and John Fadden were a father-son duo whose work represented Haudenosaunee history and culture. Their work in the mid-twentieth century sought to inform their audience of the true Indigenous history neglected in most educational systems. Among their many contributions to regional culture, they created approximately forty educational charts, resembling broadsides, of Haudenosaunee history and culture. These charts comment on the larger power dynamics, missing stories, and loss of oral traditions that originated due to the invasion of White settlers between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries.

The harsh cycle of Native-White dynamics is depicted by a continuous “wheel” in the center of the print. The numbered cycle within the wheel shares the history of the White invasion from the perspective of the Iroquois Mohawk, citing specific examples such as in section three: “Encroachment by White settlers on unceded Indian lands – Example: Fort Stanwix Treaty established on Indian boundary, White officials giving their usual oath to not to allow their people to cross the line.”

The examples within the wheel are simultaneously supported by text boxes on the left and right-hand sides which illustrate the raw emotions behind the history. The text is written by Ernest Thompson Seton, an English-born Canadian-American author, wildlife artist, and founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902. Fadden’s contrasting acknowledgment of White oppression versus Indigenous recovery is also reflected in the choice of black and white ink. These two colors represent the presence of complete opposites who are separate but share the same space. The chart illustrates the rich, disrupted history of Native American heritage, reclaims Indigenous sovereignty over Native American and colonial history, and makes space for marginalized voices to reach a larger audience.
– Berit Brecke ’26

 

Tehanetorens (Aren Akweks/Ray Fadden), Ka-hon-hes (Kahionhes/John Fadden)
The Vicious Cycle of Indian-White Relationships on the Frontier, c. 1940s,
Black-and-white print on paper, 17 x 22 in.
Special Collections
Owen D. Young Library
Arthur and Shirley Einhorn Iroquois Collection, mss. 196

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