Vicki Monks
American, Chickasaw, born 1952
In 2006, Monks returned to her home state to begin work on Lost in Oklahoma, a narrative and photography book project that examines the perseverance of Indian people in Oklahoma in the face of eradication through the pressure of assimilation. Her recent photographic series, Mixed Indian, developed out of encounters with many Indian people of mixed tribal descent, who often also have some European and African American heritage. The portraits in this series offer a glimpse into the current realities of Indian people after more than one hundred years of assimilation policies. Though the issue is a divisive one at first glance, Monks emphasizes that it has also resulted in greater unity among many Native Americans.
Monks is a member of the Chickasaw Nation. Her photographs have appeared in publications including National Wildlife Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. She has only recently begun exhibiting her photographs, beginning with the 2007 exhibit Current Realities, an invitational, multi-media traveling art show that began at the Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery (Nov. 9-Dec. 21, 2007). The exhibition presented an American Indian perspective on the Oklahoma statehood centennial. Monks’ photograph Chii was selected for the exhibition New Native Photography, 2011, at the New Mexico Museum of Art (Aug. 12-Jan 8, 2011) by jurors Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, Larry McNeil, and Katherine Ware.
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