For much of American history, scholars viewed Native American artwork through an ethnographic lens—echoes from the past that now lay dormant. While the Native American effects on display at the Portland Art Museum certainly retain an ethnographical value of their own, their framing alongside contemporary artwork from living indigenous artists makes the museum’s Native American Art Center one of the first permanent exhibits to establish indigenous material as art. The exhibit is remarkable for its depth and diversity. Composed primarily of the personal collections of two individuals—one, an Alaskan school…
