Indigenous Futurism, Place and Kinship: An Interview with Crystal Bridges’ Jordan Poorman Cocker

Last month saw the opening of “American Sunrise: Indigenous Art at Crystal Bridges,” which examines the “beauty and intricacy” of the museum’s collection of Indigenous art. The show, which runs through March 23, 2025, coincides with a recent vogue for such art and was co-curated by Jordan Poorman Cocker, who last year was named curator of Indigenous art and NAGPRA officer at the museum. We caught up with Cocker to hear more about the exhibition and what seems to be making Indigenous art feel relevant these days.

Congratulations on “American Sunrise,” which is garnering praise. How did the idea for this exhibition come about?

Over the last nine years, my curatorial work has been informed by Indigenous research methodologies with a focus on how Indigenous communities perceive art across generations and through time. This exhibition is an extension of those years of research and work toward creating a more holistic and truthful context for Indigenous art within the U.S. “American Sunrise: Indigenous Art at Crystal Bridges” celebrates the historical and ongoing relationships Indigenous peoples carry between the land; intergenerational artistic expressions; and the resilience of kinship between Indigenous artists and place.

The title was inspired by the 2019 novel American Sunrise by Joy Harjo, the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. Harjo’s poetry opens a dialogue with American history through the lens of Indigenous Nations’ relationships to the land through past, present and future timelines. I often look to literature, poetry in particular, for inspiration. In 2022, I co-curated an exhibit, “Tvlse Indigenous Art,” which featured Harjo’s poetry as well as Sterlin Harjo’s writing and a short film. The exhibit features labels in both Cherokee Language and Osage Language for several of the artists whose works are new to the collection. Crystal Bridges is embarking on a reinstallation of our permanent collection and expanding our museum. This exhibition will directly inform decision-making while curating these spaces.

The show features work by thirty prominent artists from what is now known as the United States and Canada, spanning 150 years. What challenges exist in working with that kind of breadth?

The exhibit highlights the diverse range of innovative and technically mastered mediums, including basketry, beadwork, paintings, photography and pottery by prominent artists such as Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Jeffrey Gibson, Kelly Church, Ryan Redcorn, Teri Greeves, Cara Romero and Virgil Ortiz, among others. And the thematic approach we took allowed for a new exploration of the collection through the lenses of Indigenous Futurism, Place and Kinship, offering our guests a fresh perspective.

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One of the mistakes museums have made in the past is to frame Indigenous art and material culture through the settler-colonial lens of erasure or historicism. This exhibition upends the racialized stereotype of Indigenous people existing only in America’s history. By curating with artworks from across time periods, communities and a range of mediums, the stories represented are closer to the reality of Indigenous Nations’ continuity and resilience.

You joined Crystal Bridges only recently. What are the remits and mandates that go along with your position? 

Build the collection, curate stunning exhibitions and uphold national and international best practices, including federal policies such as the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act.

It feels like we’re seeing more and more Indigenous art being shown at high-profile venues like the Venice Biennale. To what would you attribute this?

As the United States reckons with its very brief history and identity—which is rooted in settler colonialism—we will continue to see Indigenous art and artists celebrated internationally and nationally as they should be.

In your TEDx talk, you said, “We are the latest version of our ancestors.” What did you mean by that?

I followed this statement with, “I was raised with the ability to think of myself in the future… to see myself in a long lineage of women… stretching back since time immemorial… women whose abundance and wisdom is woven into my DNA.” By this I mean, for my Kiowa people, time is measured not by linear Western standards but in generations and the cycle of seasons—our calendars are structured by winters. I inherited my grandmothers’ and great-grandmothers’ ways, dreams, responsibilities and Indigenous epistemologies, or ways of knowing and doing.

What’s something that everyone gets wrong about Indigenous art?

Failing to include Indigenous art and stories.