{"id":106216,"date":"2026-01-05T16:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T22:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=106216"},"modified":"2026-01-29T11:50:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:50:55","slug":"crafting-as-resistance-how-4-indigenous-artists-across-chicago-use-crafting-as-a-tool-to-resist-cultural-erasure-and-sustain-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/crafting-as-resistance-how-4-indigenous-artists-across-chicago-use-crafting-as-a-tool-to-resist-cultural-erasure-and-sustain-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Crafting as resistance: How 4 Indigenous artists across Chicago use crafting as a tool to resist cultural erasure, sustain culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni
\n<\/strong>Medill Reports\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The sound of the\u00a0Huehuetl\u00a0drum thuds gently against the ground as Sergio places it down on the cement playground in Harrison Park, in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His wife, Ana, places offerings in front of the drums and begins preparing the copal incense for the practice of the day.\u00a0They are usually the first to arrive.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Children run through the park, zooming around the drums. Ana and Sergio sit on the side of the playground and begin\u00a0to tie their\u00a0ayoyotes, which are percussion instruments meant for the ankles. Members of the group arrive and greet\u00a0them and\u00a0then don their\u00a0ayoyotes\u00a0with similar leatherwork to Ana\u2019s and Sergio\u2019s.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s\u00a0because over the years,\u00a0Ana\u00a0and Sergio,\u00a0who asked for their last names not\u00a0to\u00a0be included, have made many of the regalia pieces for the members of their Aztec Danza group,\u00a0Huehuecoyotl.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aztec Danza<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is a traditional Indigenous Mexican folklore dance with Aztec and Nahua origins.\u00a0Dancers\u00a0perform\u00a0ritual prayer\u00a0and connection to their ancestors. Spanish colonization of Mexico suppressed the dance and rituals, but\u00a0they\u00a0have\u00a0been revived by many Indigenous Mexican groups\u00a0as a way to\u00a0reclaim cultural identity.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Indigenous
Ana and other members of the dance group Huehuecoytl dancing at the Pilsen Powwow on July 27. (Jenna Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Chicago, the Pilsen neighborhood is the predominant hub for most Aztec Danza groups in the city, including\u00a0Huehuecoytl.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ana and Sergio are\u00a0leatherwork\u00a0and regalia crafters. They design and create items to use in ceremonies, including\u00a0copilis,\u00a0ayoyotes, wrist\u00a0braces\u00a0and other traditional pieces.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ana credits Sergio\u00a0with\u00a0helping her get into\u00a0the\u00a0practice.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Indigenous
Ana and Sergio sing\u00a0during a traditional ceremony in Chicago. Ana and Sergio brought a book of song collections and their guitars that specifically reference being proud of their Nahua heritage. (Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe started our group, so we needed our own regalia. And we started doing it for\u00a0ours\u00a0and for the people that are in our group,\u201d Ana said. \u201cHe taught me how to make them. He taught us how to dance, and he taught us how to make leather crafts.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ana,\u00a0Sergio\u00a0and their group reflect a larger trend of Indigenous communities across the world \u2013 and specifically in the Midwest \u2013 reclaiming and teaching their cultural identity to the next generations through cultural crafts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Indigenous
Huehuecoytl\u00a0dancing at the Pilsen Pow Wow on July 27. (Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Negwes\u00a0White, an Ojibwe and Navajo artist,\u00a0said he\u00a0believes\u00a0maintaining cultural crafts and dance is one of the ultimate forms of resistance.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they wanted to kill us, they took away our leaders. They took our culture, and culture is art, food\u00a0and language,\u201d White said. \u201cSo\u00a0you practicing your culture is\u00a0the resistance. Movement is medicine, me dancing my culture is resistance. I am adding to the fire of resistance in that way. I think it does a lot for me.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Artist
Negwes White poses with one of his paintings. White is a multimedia and multidisciplinary artist. While his original focus was painting and graffiti art, White has expanded to traditional bead work and sewing regalia as well. (Jenna Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Noelle Garcia, an\u00a0assistant\u00a0professor of\u00a0art at National Louis University, a\u00a0feminist in\u00a0residence at Northwestern University and a staff member at the Center for Native Futures, said\u00a0cultural crafts and art can be one of the strongest symbols of resistance.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe always think of resistance as something that has to be really confrontational, and sometimes it can be, you know, everyone\u00a0has a role,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cSome of us make art. And\u00a0there’s\u00a0a million prayers and ideas seated inside of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Closeup
Negwes White works on a beading project. (Jenna Mayzouni\/MEDILL)\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the rise of social media and the ability to advocate for themselves in front of a large global audience, many Indigenous crafters across the world have been able to revitalize their cultures and crafts.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Western European societies often devalue crafting or cultural arts and artisans as second-class artists or a lower tier of art. But for many Indigenous people around the world, crafting has been a way to reclaim and\u00a0maintain\u00a0cultural identity and resist cultural erasure and colonial narratives of who they are.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Garcia, herself an artist from the Klamath and Paiute\u00a0tribes, has focused much of her own art on beadwork and basketweaving. While\u00a0acquiring\u00a0her\u00a0bachelor’s and\u00a0master’s\u00a0degrees\u00a0in\u00a0fine\u00a0arts, one of her continuous struggles was the lack of Native American art and crafts in those spaces.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn art terminology, it’s more of a modern and contemporary artistic medium for America,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cWe\u00a0don’t\u00a0often treat beadwork as high art or fine art.\u00a0It’s\u00a0something that you\u00a0don’t\u00a0often get to see within our institutions, even though\u00a0I’ve\u00a0just grown up knowing it as an art.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Beaded
Negwes\u00a0White’s medicine pouch. When White’s pouch broke, he added black beads to the necklace. The black beads\u00a0represent\u00a0the hummingbird, which has a tale in the Ojibwe tradition of how it came to flutter its wing. White resonates with the story, in particular\u00a0the part\u00a0when the\u00a0hummingbird is attempting to save the forest from\u00a0a\u00a0fire, and when the Creator asks why is it still trying even though it is so small,\u00a0the\u00a0hummingbird replies,\u00a0“I’m doing my best with what I can.”\u00a0It’s\u00a0a story\u00a0White says he tries to live by. (Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

White had similar experiences with his family members growing up. He said he considers himself to be from a family of artists, but many of his family members were not given the space and respect to create, or their craft was not appreciated.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandmother was straight up everything. The woman was ahead of her time. She was this little Ojibwe woman who\u00a0didn’t\u00a0have a high school degree, but she was making sweetgrass baskets,\u201d White said. \u201cShe was making sweetgrass turtles and bowls\u00a0and the most intricate pieces. And to us that was normal, but to the world that was immaculate. We\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0know she was a master sweetgrass basket maker; we just thought that was just grandma doing her thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Much suffering for Indigenous people in the United States is directly tied to the cultural genocide of Native Americans throughout the last centuries. Policies such as the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Code of Indian Offenses in 1883\u00a0and the forced assimilation through Indian Boarding Schools from 1860 to 1978 all contributed to many Nations and tribes losing access to their historical lands, sacred grounds, ceremonies, traditions\u00a0and cultural practices.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Frida
Jessica Zapata’s “Frida” sculpture. Zapata was\u00a0attempting\u00a0to make a Catrina sculpture in honor of her sister, who died from\u00a0COVID-19 in 2020. As Zapata was making the sculpture, she said it started to resemble Frida\u00a0Khalo, and she said it felt right for her sister’s memory. (Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And while Chicago has one of the largest Native American urban populations in the United States, there is an extreme lack of representation, from a lack of education on Native American history in Chicago Public Schools, to a lack of exhibitions of contemporary Native American artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While some of the\u00a0histories of their people may have been\u00a0lost\u00a0to\u00a0,\u00a0time\u00a0and often genocide, many are working with the knowledge they\u00a0have to\u00a0reclaim what has been lost.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ana and Sergio, and Jessica Zapata are all part of a Nahua dance group that strives to follow traditional Nahua ceremonies, dances\u00a0and other cultural practices to preserve the Nahua culture and dance.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sergio taught himself leatherwork and how to sew traditional regalia and ceremonial items for the group. In doing so, he taught Ana, and they continued to collect books, stories\u00a0and information from elders on any traditions and symbols related to their work.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI get\u00a0copal, sage\u00a0or tobacco so there is always smoke around what I am working on,\u201d Sergio said. \u201cAnd for me, it’s a way to get my work close to the ancestors; the smoke creates a connection between us.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ana, when working on her pieces, details a sense of serenity and peace.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI do also see it as a prayer,\u201d she said. \u201cMaking art is already sacred, and sharing it with our people makes it even more sacred.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This echoes throughout the work of various Indigenous artists.\u00a0Their craft is not only a practice, but also an extension of their identity and culture.\u00a0The craft itself begins to hold a sacred place in their lives and integrates into the day-to-day practices of who they are.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re always going to see parts of the past, because our ancestors did that work for us,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cIt’s\u00a0a different type of technology that\u00a0we’ve\u00a0developed over centuries, but we can still apply it to our artistic practices. And now, since\u00a0we’re\u00a0living in\u00a0a new environment, we adapt.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Child's
A child holds\u00a0ayoyote\u00a0at a\u00a0Huehuecoytl\u00a0practice.\u00a0\u00a0(Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Red
El\u00a0Diablito.\u00a0Zapata made this devil for the next New Year celebration. The tradition is to burn\u00a0cartoneria,\u00a0or papier-mache,\u00a0sculptures at different seasons of the year as part of getting rid of bad energy and setting intentions for the next season. (Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Back
A member of\u00a0Huehuecoytl\u00a0holds\u00a0up a traditional banner for a harvest ceremony (Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Indigenous
A member of\u00a0Huehuecoytl\u00a0gives\u00a0thanks to\u00a0Ometeotl, a Nahua god, during a ceremony (Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A member of\u00a0Huehuecoytl\u00a0gives\u00a0thanks to\u00a0Ometeotl, a Nahua god, during a ceremony (Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\/MEDILL)\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni\u00a0is a recent graduate of the Medill School of Journalism.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Jenna\u00a0Mayzouni Medill Reports\u00a0 The sound of the\u00a0Huehuetl\u00a0drum thuds gently against the ground as Sergio places it down on the cement playground in Harrison Park, in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago.\u00a0\u00a0 His wife, Ana, places offerings in front of the drums and begins preparing the copal incense for the practice of the day.\u00a0They are usually the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":765,"featured_media":106213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,5251,5539,5542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-chicago","category-fall-2025","category-msj25"],"yoast_head":"\nCrafting as resistance: How 4 Indigenous artists across Chicago use crafting as a tool to resist cultural erasure, sustain culture - Medill Reports 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