Bob Haozous

Serendipity. It can be a good friend to those who don’t plan well.

What to do on a day with a 100 degree forecast? Another strenuous hike? Perhaps not. How about an indoor experience with air conditioning? Off we went on the thirty minute drive to the Phoenix Art Museum to see the two new photography exhibits.

Except the museum was closed for the day to prepare for a special evening event. In my defense, their web site did not mention the closure. On the other hand, I didn’t actually check the web site before we left.

Nevermind. The Heard Museum was just up the street. We’d been meaning to return, and fate seemed to be pointing us in that direction. We arrived just in time to latch on to a guided tour of the Home exhibits; information about the customs, arts, and crafts of local tribes. Afterwards, we discovered the Bob Haozous exhibition.

I had never heard of Haozous, but I was immediately impressed by the range and quality of his work. Now in his eighties, Haozous has thoughtfully explored the essence of being an indigenous artist and the significance of being a Native American in the modern world.

For more than 50 years, Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache artist Bob Haozous has communicated through his sculptures, jewelry designs, paintings, and drawings.

From early sculptures in stone and wood to later works in steel and more recent assemblages, his artworks are compelling for their aesthetic appeal and the concepts they hold. Haozous’s work explores themes of the environment, humanity’s treatment (and destruction) of Mother Earth, political boundaries as artificial constructs, and the need for Indigenous art forms to mean more than their economic return.

Haozous finds deep roots in his family. He was born in Los Angeles in 1943 to Allan Houser, considered the founding father of Native American sculpture, and Anna Marie Houser. As a young boy, his family moved to Apache, Oklahoma, and lived with his grandfather Sam Haozous, whom he remembers as a great storyteller. Allan Houser then took a teaching position at Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City, Utah, where Haozous spent his middle and high school years. He went to college on a swimming scholarship but left to join the US Navy after a year and a half. Following his honorable discharge, Haozous attended the California College of Arts and Crafts (now the California College of Arts), graduating in 1971 with a triple major in sculpture, painting, and drawing.

Throughout his career and across many different media, Haozous invites viewers to look closely. While some works may seem whimsical or humorous, each sculpture, drawing, painting, and jewelry form contains a vital message.

Initially published in Bob Haozous: Indigenous Dialogue, by Joseph Sanchez, Santa Fe: Institute of American Arts Museum, 2005

Current definitions and identifications of being Native American must be challenged and reevaluated before a genuine contemporary and meaningful identity can emerge. The infrastructure of this self description must use an honest portrayal of our contemporary human condition and reliance on traditional philosophical cultural knowledge as a guiding reference.

Therefore:

I am not convinced that Indian bloodlines or tribal number can make someone Indian

I do not misrepresent the elders or the children for personal glorification

I do not accept Mother Earth-Father Sky references as more than metaphor

I am not genetically courageous or claim to be a warrior of today

I do not believe the creator or life giver specifically references humanity

I do not worship the eagle, the sun, the moon, the turtle or myself I am not one with nature, a noble savage or innately wise

I do not use pollen, corn meal, tobacco, sage or cedar as proxy for western religious beliefs

I do not believe the four, five, six or seven directions are necessarily sacred

I am not superior to other tribes, other cultures or other races I do not accept post-modernism or native modernism as Indian art definitions

I do not walk in prettiness while ignoring concepts of balance

I am not living in two worlds and don’t glorify the effects of assimilation

I do not use popular, non-Apache generic Indian rhetoric or greetings

I do not use proud or stoic as the finite definition of my Indian identity

l am not driven by anger, immaturity, greed, self servitude or childlike passions

I do not greet with a non-Apache or politically correct ethnic handshake

I do not turn our olders into elders simply because they are older

I am not convinced that modern concepts of individualism replace tribe or culture

I do not believe that heaven is vertical or up, white is good or black is bad

I do not believe intermarriage to Euro-Americans makes Indian children smarter

I am not living in the past by believing that there is an indigenous Apache future

I do not bow my head or look up during prayer or ceremony

I do not limit my questioning by western or traditional frameworks

I am not compelled to seek attention, acceptance, or respect to justify my work

I do not place prestige over cultural responsibility and commitment

I do not believe non-tribal people can honestly speak for indigenous people

I am not ignoring our need to cry, laugh, feel pain, or think

I do not believe that nobility is awarded or makes you noble or superior

I do not believe that lifestyle maintenance justifies environmental desecration

I am not dependent on Indian Speak to maintain an indigenous identity

After a visit to the Heard, don’t miss the gift shop. There are no Chinese-made trinkets here. If you want and can afford an heirloom basket, a handmade rug, or an exquisite piece of jewelry, this is the place for you.

And don’t miss the cafe. Dishes made with native ingredients are given a modern interpretation. The prickly pear lemonade is recommended.