America revisited: Indigenous culture showcased in first Korean exhibition

Arts & Design

Published: 24 Jun. 2024, 13:50

America revisited: Indigenous culture showcased in first Korean exhibition

″Indian Power″ (1972) by Fritz Scholder [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

In a scene from Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning film “Parasite” (2019), lead actor Song Kang-ho wears a feathered headdress as he peers out from the bushes on a lawn decorated with tipis.

This scene is an accurate representation of how Koreans visualize the Indigenous peoples of North America, who are still often referred to as "Indians."

National Museum of Korea focuses on Goguryeo Kingdom in 2024 updates

It’s not that there isn’t a Korean translation for Indigenous Americans. Instead, there have rarely been opportunities in the country to straighten out the monumental mistake that Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) made centuries ago when he called Indigenous Americans "Indians," believing that he arrived in India.

The National Museum of Korea aims to address this historical inaccuracy.

″The American Indian (Russell Means)″ (1976) by Andy Warhol [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

For the first time ever, there is an exhibition in Korea on the cultures and histories of Indigenous Americans at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul. Under the Korean title “Stories of the People Whom We Once Called Indians,” the exhibition addresses the historical inaccuracy of the terminology most commonly used in Korea.

The exhibition was co-organized by the Denver Art Museum and displays 151 selected items from its collection.

The museums maintained a partnership since 2022, with the National Museum of Korea supporting the Denver Art Museum’s exhibition on traditional buncheong ceramics last year.

A copper-breaking post depicting a halibut-like sea monster by the Kwakwaka'wakw tribe before 1900 [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

The Denver museum is one of the first museums in the United States to collect artwork by Indigenous Americans, and currently houses more than 18,000 pieces.

Christoph Heinrich, the Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the Denver Art Museum, made it clear that the pieces were artworks, not artifacts, because they are not to be perceived as “weaknesses of how people might have lived at a certain time.”

“With our collection, we aim to showcase the diversity and excellence of Indigenous art and highlight the contributions that native artists have made,” Heinrich said in a press conference last week.

The exhibition invites visitors to learn about the artistic traditions and distinct living cultures of different tribes.

A chief's blanket from the Navajo circa 1800-1850 [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

A tipi from the Lakhota tribe circa 1880 [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

One thing that might astonish Koreans is that Indigenous Americans are not homogenous. There are more than 570 tribes inhabiting the entire North American continent, including the Navajo, Cherokee, Seminole, Apache and Iroquois tribes. Each tribe boasts a unique and versatile lifestyle and civilization that continues to this day.

Another common misconception is that all Indigenous Americans lived in tipis. In reality, housing differed by location. Inuit in the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America lived in igloos, and Puebloans in southwestern regions lived in adobes, or mud brick buildings.

These stereotypes that persisted over the years stem from portrayals of Indigenous Americans by European settlers, who made "romantic and peaceful" paintings and photographs to encourage settler expansion.

″Mother and child″ (1908) by Edward S. Curtis [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

Luckily not everyone played into the propaganda, such as photographer Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952) who took pictures of Indigenous Americans in fear that their customs would soon disappear. However, regardless of his motive, Curtis still romanticized the community by staging them in his photographs.

The exhibition recenters the narrative of Indigenous Americans by letting the community speak for itself through art. It breaks down the houses, clothing, bowls, ritual objects and paintings of Indigenous Americans according to climate and geographic region. At the same time, it emphasizes their common values: communion with nature and a balanced life of harmony.

A headdress worn by the Nez Perce tribe in the 1860s to 1890s [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

The exhibition space was designed with a circular format to symbolize how the Indigenous community believes in the everlasting connection of life and death, as well as the past, present and future. The circular design also encourages visitors to reflect on Indigenous American worldviews and how they continue to exist in contemporary times.

“Stories of the People Whom We Once Called Indians,” also known by its English title “Culture and Histories of Indigenous Peoples in North America,” continues until Oct. 9. The National Museum of Korea is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. Opening hours extend to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tickets are 10,000 won ($7) for adults.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]