Zoom Talk with the Curators of a Seneca Exhibition at Ma’s House

Ma’s House, the communal art space based on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton, is currently hosting an exhibition from the Seneca Nation’s Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center. Co-curated by Jocelyn Jones and Hayden Haynes, the traveling exhibition titled “Hënödeyësdahgwa’geh wa’öki’jö’ ögwahsä’s. Onëh I:’ jögwadögwea:je’ — We Were at the School. We Were There. We Remember” includes historical research on the Thomas Indian School, archival materials, photography by Hayden Haynes, and artwork by Shinnecock artist Denise Silva-Dennis.

On Friday, December 23, at 6 p.m., Ma’s House hosts a Zoom curator talk with Haynes and Jones. To register for the Zoom link, visit mashouse.studio.

Boarding schools arrived at the onset of U.S. government Indian assimilation policies from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. Americans assumed Indigenous peoples would disappear in a matter of time and ramped up the process with institutionalized boarding schools to assimilate Indigenous youth before they were fully enculturated with their families’ languages and cultures. Boarding school policies certainly embraced Richard H. Pratt’s ideology of kill the Indian, save the man (1892).

The efforts of the curators and collaborators in the exhibition “We Were at the School. We Were There. We Remember” tells part of the story of the Thomas Indian School (TIS) in Irving, New York.

“This exhibition was initiated by a series of photographs that Hayden Haynes (Onöndowa’ga:’ - Deer Clan) took of Jocelyn Jones (Onöndowa’ga:’ - Wolf Clan),” write the curators Jocelyn Jones and Hayden Haynes. “Our plan was to highlight certain buildings and sites on the Cattaraugus Territory that were part of the history of the Thomas Indian School in an effort to raise awareness about the ‘school.’ These places included the Wright Memorial Church, Reverend Asher Wright’s house, the old infirmary of the Thomas Indian School, and the United Missions Cemetery. Out of this series of photographs an idea was born to create an exhibition about TIS.

“Our sole purpose is to create this exhibit for our community,” they continued. “It is a way to honor our ancestors, to provide a space for learning, and to offer a moment for healing for our communities and future generations. We found it necessary that this exhibit be created through our collective Indigenous voice, in an effort to exercise narrative sovereignty.”

The contributing writers of this exhibition are: Dr. Lori Quigley (Onöndowa’ga:’), Dr. Alyssa Mt. Pleasant (Skarure Descent), Dr. Rodney Haring (Onöndowa’ga:’), Dr. Meredith Alberta (Skarure), and Dr. Joe Stahlman (Skarure Descent). It remains on view through January 28 at Ma’s House, 159 Old Point Road, Southampton. Visit mashouse.studio for details.