Hudson River Museum Presents Smoke in Our Hair: Native Memory and Unsettled Time
Yonkers, NY, January 15, 2025—The Hudson River Museum is proud to present a groundbreaking new exhibition Smoke in Our Hair: Native Memory and Unsettled Time, on view from February 14–August 31, 2025 in the Hudson River Museum’s West Wing. This exhibition explores the nuanced layers of the past, present, and future within contemporary art by Native American, Alaska Native, First Nations, and Métis artists. The twenty-seven works in this exhibition highlight some of the most influential Native artists working over the last sixty years, with many of these works never before exhibited on the East Coast. Together, these artists—including Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe), Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂), James Luna (Payómkawichum, Ipai, and Mexican), and Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scot)—carry forward the artistic lineages of their ancestors while simultaneously sparking new visions for the future.
Smoke in Our Hair, curated by independent curator Sháńdíín Brown (Diné) and debuting at the Hudson River Museum, explores Indigenous understandings of time that are cyclical and relational, in contrast to Western perceptions of time that are often linear and commodified. The intersection of memory and time in contemporary Native artistic practices reveals how temporality shapes perceptions of self, culture, and reality, as well as how the past is remembered and reimagined. The works in this exhibition are drawn from the collections of Art Bridges, the Forge Project, and the Gochman Family Collection.
The title of the exhibition references the poem “Smoke in Our Hair” by Ofelia Zepeda (Tohono O’odham). Using smoke as a metaphor for memories, Zepeda reminds us of the fluidity of Native memory, while pointing to its enduring intensity as it reaches the conscious and unconscious mind. She writes:
Smoke, like memories, permeates our hair,
our clothing, our layers of skin.
The smoke travels deep
to the seat of memory.
We walk away from the fire;
no matter how far we walk,
we carry this scent with us.
Exhibition curator Sháńdíín Brown states, “Poetry was a guiding force in shaping the themes of this exhibition, particularly “Smoke in Our Hair” by Ofelia Zepeda (Tohono O’odham) and “Memory Sack” by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke). Together, art and writing offer crucial ways to explore Native perspectives on existence and remembrance, inviting us to contemplate our understandings of time, memory, and identity.”
“Smoke in Our Hair will be the first exhibition in the Hudson River Museum’s 106-year history to explore memory and time through the perspectives of contemporary Native artists,” states Director & CEO Masha Turchinsky. “By amplifying these powerful narratives, this transformative gathering celebrates the continuity and innovations of Indigenous practices within the broader context of contemporary art.”
The exhibition is organized in three main sections—wood, fire, and smoke—and each gallery space references and reveals different elements of cycles. Through diverse media, including installation, sculpture, painting, and textiles, the artists manipulate materials and spaces, giving form to the intangible. These artists offer critical reflections on working between those who came before them and those who will come after.
In exploring interrelationships of memory and Indigenous understandings of time, the exhibition brings renewed focus to the artists’ practices in regard to intentionality, design, and materiality. The included works reference artists’ personal memory, ancestral artistic practices, history, and Indigenous futurism.
Featured artists:
Saif Azzuz (Libyan-Yurok)
Teresa Baker (Mandan/Hidatsa)
Nikyle Begay (Diné)
Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe)
Beau Dick (Kwakwaka’wakw, Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw First Nation)
Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂)
Ishi Glinsky (Tohono O’odham)
Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill (Métis)
Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians)
G. Peter Jemison (Enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, Heron Clan)
Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Iñupiaq and Athabascan)
Matthew Kirk (Navajo)
Kite (Oglala Sioux Tribe)
James Luna (Payómkawichum, Ipai, and Mexican)
Dakota Mace (Diné)
George Morrison (Ojibwe)
Eric-Paul Riege (Diné)
Cara Romero (Chemehuevi)
Kali Spitzer (Kaska Dena and Jewish)
Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scot)
Tania Willard (Secwépemc)
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (Coast Salish and Okanagan (Syilx))
This exhibition is curated by independent curator Sháńdíín Brown (Diné) in creative collaboration with Moonoka Begay (Ndéé + Diné), who also served as curatorial research assistant, and Zach Feuer.
Exhibitions are made possible by assistance provided by the County of Westchester.
Lead support for this exhibition is generously provided by Becky Gochman and Art Bridges. Additional support is provided by Larry and Jill Feldman, and Conrad and Sarah Meyer.
Public programs are supported in part by the Anita K. Hersh Philanthropic Foundation and Ellen Kozak.
Featured Programs
Sunday, March 9, 2pm
Curator Tour of Smoke in Our Hair: Native Memory and Unsettled Time
Join Sháńdíín Brown, curator of Smoke in Our Hair: Native Memory and Unsettled Time, for an in-depth tour of the exhibition. Brown will guide guests through its three thematic sections—Wood, Smoke, and Fire—while exploring how Indigenous perspectives on time are cyclical, relational, and unifying. The tour will highlight how the works draw on personal memory, ancestral artistic practices, history, and Indigenous futurism.
Press contact:
Jeana Wunderlich
jwunderlich@hrm.org
(914) 963-4550 x240
Samantha Hoover
shoover@hrm.org
(914) 963-4550 x216
###
The Hudson River Museum is a preeminent cultural institution in Westchester County and the New York metropolitan area. The Museum is situated on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, New York, with a mission to engage, inspire, and connect diverse communities through the power of the arts, sciences, and history.
The HRM offers engaging experiences for every age and interest, with an ever-evolving collection of American art and dynamic exhibitions that range from notable nineteenth-century paintings to contemporary art installations. The campus, which recently expanded to include a West Wing with exhibition galleries and sweeping views of the Hudson River, features Glenview, an 1877 house on the National Register of Historic Places; a state-of-the-art planetarium; an environmental teaching gallery; and an outdoor amphitheater. The Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting these multidisciplinary offerings, which are complemented by an array of public programs that encourage creative expression, collaboration, and artistic and scientific discovery. The Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), an honor awarded to only 3% of museums nationwide.
Hours and Admission: The Hudson River Museum is open to the public Wednesday–Friday, from 12–5pm, and Saturday–Sunday, from 11am–5pm. On Free First Fridays, the Museum is open and free of charge on the first Friday of the month, from 5–8pm. Learn more and purchase tickets at hrm.org/visit.
General Admission: Adults $13; Youth (3–18) $8; Seniors (65+) $9; Students (with valid ID) $9; Veterans $9; Children (under 3) FREE; Members FREE; Museums for All* $2, *SNAP/EBT card with photo ID (up to 4 people). Planetarium tickets: Adults $7; Youth (3–18) $5; Seniors (65+) $6; Students (with valid ID) $6; Veterans $6; Children (under 3) Free. Glenview tours: Adults $7; Youth (3–18) $5; Seniors (65+) $6; Students (with valid ID) $6; Veterans $6; Children (under 3) Free. The Museum is accessible by Metro-North (Hudson Line—Yonkers and Glenview stations), by Bee-Line Bus Route #1, by car, and by bike. If you plan on taking Metro-North Railroad to Glenwood Station and want to leave your car behind, you can save on discounted round-trip rail fare and discounted admission by getting an MTA Away package. More details here!
