Longview, Texas —The Longview Museum of Fine Arts (LMFA) marks America’s 250th anniversary with a major regional exhibition elevating contemporary Indigenous voices from across the American South. 

Visitors will encounter ceramic traditions alongside contemporary painting, intricate beadwork, and mixed media works that connect ancestral knowledge to present-day Indigenous life. The exhibition brings together artists, scholars, and cultural leaders to honor the legacy, resilience, and creativity of Native communities. It is more than an art exhibition-it is a platform for dialogue, education, and community reflection. 

The artists presenting in this show are Martha Berry (beadwork), Jacquline Bullard (basketry),Jason Carrasco (painting), Dylan Cavin (painting& illustration), Chase Kahwinhut Earles (pottery), Tom Farris(paintings), Yonavea Hawkins (beadwork), Elisse John (basketry), Bobby C. Martin (painting), Jeri and Moira Redcorn (pottery & collage), Tony Tiger (painting &printmaking), and Billy Hensley (printmaking & painting).

LMFA’s curatorial team—Tiffany Jehorek, Executive Director and Curator of Exhibitions, and Derek Frazier, Curator of Collections and Preparator collaborated with Caddo artist Chase Kahwinhut Earles to develop the exhibition. 

Earles’ work is held in the collections of nearly 30 museums and institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution, the Autry Museum of the American West (CA), the Dallas Museum of Art (TX), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (AR), and the Detroit Institute of Arts (MI).Grounded in lived experience and ancestral tradition, his practice explores themes of identity continuity, and place. His voice brings an essential perspective to contemporary art, emphasizing the importance of Indigenous leadership in shaping cultural narratives. 

Jehorek notes, “Derek and I have been developing this idea for more than two years, knowing that for it to be meaningful, Indigenous voices had to shape it from within. Inviting Chase into the curatorial process changed everything. His connections, historical knowledge, and lived relationship to the culture elevated the exhibition far beyond what we could have achieved alone.” 

The exhibition features thirteen artists representing eleven tribes, including Choctaw, Cherokee, Seminole, Chickasaw, Muscogee, Coushatta, Otoe-Missouria, Delaware, and Sac and Fox Nations. Earles shares, “I am excited to be part of an exhibition that brings awareness to the Caddo people and to the art of the tribes of the Southeast. Caddo history and culture, along with many Mississippian tribes, are underrepresented in the broader Native American art world. There is so much contemporary Native art reinterpreting history that should not be overlooked. These ancient cultures, present on this continent since time immemorial, played a significant role in shaping what is now the United States. I am especially honored that this exhibition is taking place in Texas, one of the Caddo homeland states, whose name derives from the Caddo word ‘Taysha,’ meaning friendship.” 

Derek Frazier adds, “For me, working in the museum field is about giving a voice to artists. In this case, we are especially proud to provide a platform for artistic expression that has too often been overlooked or silenced. Two hundred and fifty years isa long time—and these artists have much to say.”