Читать книгу Lost Worlds of 1863. Relocation and Removal of American Indians in the Central Rockies and the Greater Southwest онлайн

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In the late spring of 2000, I completed the mural, “Fear of a Red Planet: Forced Removal and Relocation.” “Fear of a Red Planet” was added into the title after overhearing Craig Smith, the Museum photographer, comment about how potentially challenging some of the imagery I created could be for some Heard members. I added “Fear of a Red Planet” to the title as I realized so much colonization and conflict are rooted in the fear of the unknown and the inability for dominant cultures to acknowledge its own amnesia of progress.

“Amnesia of progress” is a phrase that is stenciled in the mural. It was coined by the writer Jonathan Bond, a close friend and frequent collaborator. The phrase is well suited to the subject matter of “Fear of a Red Planet: Forced Removal and Relocation;” that of forced migration and extinction of a people for the benefit of a dominant culture, with no credence for the human cost.

“Fear of a Red Planet” is also an indirect reference to a mockumentary called “Fear of a Black Hat,” a comedy about the rise and fall of the controversial musical group N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes). “Fear of a Black Planet” is the title of N.W.A.’s most famous album; the reference in the Mural title to both “Black Hat” and “Black Planet” is about the co-mingling of parody and fear, which is how the dominant culture relates to groups in the minority.