Jerry Fogg
Topics: Anti-racism, History, Native American, Visual Art
Community: Sioux Falls
Program Types: Speakers Bureau, Virtual Program(s)
www.facebook.com/NativeSoulArt
jerryfogg@sio.midco.net | (605) 254-8189
Healing Our Shared Past, Present, and Future: The Hiawatha Indian Insane Asylum
(Note: This presentation is best as a combined presentation with fellow Humanities Scholar Anne Dilenschneider.)
From 1902-1933, Native Americans who misbehaved in boarding schools or who angered reservation agents were incarcerated at the Hiawatha Asylum in Canton, SD – the linchpin of federal “Indian” policy. By the time it closed, ~400 Native Americans from across the U.S. had been incarcerated there. Until recently, this part of our state and national history was virtually unknown. Now, as Keepers of the Canton Native Insane Asylum Story, Jerry and Anne share this story in order to heal this wound in our own time.
Native Soul: Every Picture Tells a Story
Fogg invites all South Dakotans into their shared history. An artist who is not afraid to tell the complicated stories of this land, he brings the past into the present through his art. In connecting his own feelings and those who engage with his art, he helps us imagine a preferred future together. This mixed media approach includes historical pieces, Native American craft, traditional art techniques, and a touch of humor. He asks: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?
Let’s Communicate: How Art is Generated out of Legends, Lore, Culture and Historical Events
In every piece of Fogg’s work “there is more in the picture than just the story.” The presentation shares the process he goes through to engage the viewer in the past, present and future, making informed choices on how to incorporate actual items (documents, furs, coins, certificates, etc.), as well as symbols of Native and non-Native cultures. This process takes time. Once, Fogg had a snakeskin for 20 years before it was needed. Another piece has been germinating for 7 years, but its time is yet to be completed.