Carrying Prayer: Reclamation, Remembrance, and Honor. Wistariahurst Exhibition Honors Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

A bold and breathtaking exhibition featuring the work of Anthony Melting Tallow, Bo’taan’niis, (Flying Chief) opened on October 6, 2022 at the Wistariahurst Museum. A member of the Blackfoot nation and proud Two Spirit, Aya’kii’kas’si, (Walks A Journey Between), Melting Tallow’s work addresses land dispossession, residential school intergenerational trauma, reframing indigenous voices, misappropriation of native imagery, and violence against indigenous women.

Most importantly, Melting Tallow’s work represents hope.

Accompanying Melting Tallow’s stunning visionary artwork is an installation embodying the memory of those lost to violence. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there are an estimated 4,200 missing and murdered investigations that have gone unsolved, the majority of which involve women. In total, more than 1.5 million American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime.

A resident of Chicopee, Massachusetts, Melting Tallow has long been an outspoken representative of the native experience through his political activism, cultural education, and creative voice. “It is my job as an artist to reframe the past, present, and future in a way that brings honor to indigenous people.” When asked about the title of his exhibition, Melting Tallow shares that prayer and native medicine define the healing process. “We can reclaim ourselves,” Melting Tallow shares. “In my heart, no one is left behind.” The exhibition, entitled Carrying Prayer: Reclamation, Remembrance, and Honor.

This is the recording of the artist’s talk, at Wistariahurst Museum, on October 12, 2022.