
- Details
- By Nanette Kelley
San Luis Obispo County, Calif. & Santa Fe, N.M. — Place-based artist Leah Mata Fragua (Northern Chumash) is the next guest artist in the new virtual educational art series “Collections Spotlight.”
Collections Spotlight is a partnership program between the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts in Santa Fe and First American Art Magazine (FAAM). The interactive online discussions bring together Native American artists and scholars to discuss art works in the Coe Center collection. The virtual Zoom format events are free and open to the general public.
“We were in conversation with America Meredith at FAAM about developing some kind of programing, and she had the brilliant idea to offer in-depth conversations with artists about pieces from the Coe collection and their own work and practice. The result has been really wonderful and meaningful for us all,” Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts Curator Bess Murphy said.
Though the series was born out of the pandemic and the resulting closures in New Mexico, Murphy suggested that these events may continue after the center reopens.
“Perhaps we could even eventually add in an in-person element to these in the future,” she said.
The next online event features Northern Chumash artist Fragua (yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini (the people of tiłhini), Northern Chumash Tribe). Mata Fragua was awarded the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, and most recently, the 2020 Barbra Dobkin Fellowship at the School of Advanced Research. She has a B.A. in Anthropology and M.A. in Cultural Sustainability. She’s currently a professor with the Institute of American Indian Arts, Indigenous Liberal Studies department.
Photo by Leah Mata Fragua Mata Fragua refers to herself as a “place-based artist.”
“Materials found in your bioregion are reflective of your cultural intellectual knowledge of place and allow you to understand how to use those materials,” she said of her artistic discipline.
The Northern Chumash bioregion and traditional territory is California’s Central Coast in the San Luis Obispo County region.
Because her people were impacted in the early days of the California Mission system––specifically by Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and Mission San Miguel Arcángel––some of the ill effects were lost techniques required to make Chumash regalia and baskets.
“I started out making dance dresses and I had few resources other than notes from my grandmother,” Mata Fragua said. “I’m trying to put the pieces back together to make it more authentic.”
However, finding authentic examples of Chumash art to study isn’t easy. Although she’s an academic, Mata Fragua attributes this problem to a lack of accessibility, such as pieces of historical regalia held in France and Spain, as well as challenges associated with accessing collections through gatekeepers.
“Being able to access collections is a privilege, it’s not something someone can do unless they have resources” she said, adding, “There is a disconnect from our own material culture.”
Another problem that is specific to the cultural sustainability of California tribes was the Pan-Indianism movement that saw protests by Native peoples not indigenous to California. The presence of those who were products of the Indian Relocation Act, as well as the media coverage of American Indian Movement protests, resulted in the outside influence of relocation Indian dress designs on California tribes.
“Alcatraz erases us,” she said, before adding: “I can say it ‘erases us’ without dismissing its importance, but it’s an important piece of history that does not help California Indians.”
Her unease regarding the Occupation of Alcatraz stems from the fact that it led to an absence of local tribal representation, including their regalia styles in mainstream media. “Relocation Indians overshadowed us. Even in our home state, relocation Indians are more visible,” she said. “I’d like to hit the reset button on our work and rid our dresses of outside influences.”
Mata Fragua will discuss Chumash art and regalia in the Coe Center collection with America Meredith and curator Bess Murphy Tuesday, July 21 at 4 p.m. CST.
Free registration is open to the public for this online event.
More Stories Like This
Alaska Native Artists Featured in "The Story of Art in Alaska" Now Streaming on Amazon PrimePainting and Youth Activities Move to the CRYP Campus on Day 3 of the 11th Annual RedCan Invitational Graffiti Jam
Graffiti & Street Artists Paint at Eagle Butte Mural Sites on Day 2 of the 11th Annual RedCan Invitational Graffiti Jam
Cheyenne River Youth Project Showcases RedCan at Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Prepares to Kick Off 2025 Graffiti Jam This Wednesday, July 9
"Jim Thorpe: Lit by Lightning" Director Chris Eyre: 'Thorpe was one of the greatest Americans to Ever Live.'
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher