trade (Gifts for trading land with White People) By Jaune Quick-to-see Smith

Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, 1992, mixed media on canvas, image of culture/global contemporary

Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People) by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith is an oil painting with mixed media on a canvas. It was made in 1992. It is an image of culture and a contemporary piece of art. The canvas itself is covered in old newspapers talking about Native Americans and traces the outline of a canoe, a historically Native American source of transportation. The canoe being surrounded by text represents how it can be difficult for Indigenous people to understand who they are as contemporary people. This piece is one of her first pieces of art depicting canoes, which she continues to show throughout her career. The reddish color of the canvas is meant to symbolize blood. Above the canvas is a chain with sports memorabilia and logos that were appropriated from Native American culture. The images on the objects are all mass-produced, cheap, and plentiful. 

The piece of art was originally made as part of Smith’s assemblage called “Columbus Quincentenary Non-Celebration.” Smith decided to create this assemblage because during the same year, people were celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus. In her artwork, Smith is fully aware of European traditions, however, is using her knowledge to explain the injustices to Native Americans. She references the founding of New Amsterdam (Modern-day New York), which started when the Dutch gave trinkets to the Algonquin Indians in exchange for Manhattan. This was not at all a fair trade, but ironically, the word “trade” connotes equality. 

By creating Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), Smith reflects the Native American social issues caused by European occupation including poverty, unemployment, disease, and alcoholism. Her piece stands as a symbol of strength and protest of Native Americans in both colonial and modern America.