Sovereign
- Date
- 2017
- Material
- Monotype
- made in
- Manoa, Hawaii, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Prints
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- Overall: 44 × 120 in. (111.8 × 304.8 cm)
sheet: 22 × 15 in. (55.9 × 38.1 cm) - Credit Line
- The Sidney S. and Sadie Cohen Print Purchase Fund
- Rights
- © Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds
- Object Number
- 483:2018a-p
NOTES
Words flow rhythmically across 16 red monotypes, each a separate unique print. A stippling effect eats away at the letters, destabilizing the initial meanings. “Talking Stick” and “Fire Rock” may seem to evoke settings and characters from Native American stories. However, the artist lifted these and other two-word phrases from Native gaming operations such as Lucky Star Casino, owned by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.
In the 1980s, legal debates about Native gambling centered on the sovereign status of Native governments and reservations. Following passage of federal legislation in 1988, hundreds of Native nations opened gaming centers on tribally owned land, often along major highways in exurban areas. Casinos may fuel addiction and deepen individual poverty, though gaming profits frequently support cultural heritage programs and infrastructure projects.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.