This virtual event will foster dialogue between Native and non-Native typography communities. This online conference includes presentations, discussions, and workshops on November 11 – 13, 2022.
NEW YORK, NY — The Type Directors Club (TDC), the leading organization for the global type community, this fall will host Ezhishin. This will be the first-ever conference dedicated to Native North American typography.
Named after the Ojibwe word for “s/he leaves a mark,” Ezhishin will facilitate conversation around the typographic needs of First Nations/Native American communities and showcase lettering projects and typographic styles by Native designers and designers of Indigenous descent.
The virtual event includes more than a dozen panels and presentations on November 11 and 12, 2022, with workshops on November 13.
There are few Native American type designers operating today. Native practitioners often use fonts designed by non-Natives. The Ezhishin conference looks to further dialogue to help increase the number of Native partitioners who create their own type. Talks will inform non-Native type designers about the unique cultural aspects and needs of Native North American communities.
Ezhishin, part of TDC’s ongoing Type Drives Culture conference series, is co-curated by Neebinnaukzhik Southall (Chippewas of Rama), a graphic designer, artist, photographer, and writer who specializes in working within Indigenous communities, and Ksenya Samarskaya, the recently appointed TDC managing director.
Southall explained how Ezhishin is based on a respectful relationship between herself and Samarskaya, who previously interviewed them for a Typographica article and, in one of her first actions as TDC managing director, asked them to co-curate a conference focused on Native North American typography.
“This conference is an example of what a positive partnership to uplift diverse communities looks like,” Southall says. “The work of Native designers has frequently been left out of conversations in the mainstream and not adequately addressed in design history. We want to change that situation. The word ezhishin serves as a poetic title for a conference focused on the mark-making of typographers, as well as the legacy we leave as designers.”
Presenters
The conference includes presentations and panels featuring prominent Native designers and designers of Native ancestry, as well as non-Native designers working respectfully with Native communities.
Confirmed speakers to date include Joi T. Arcand (Muskeg Lake Cree), Sébastien Aubin (Opaskwayak Cree), Kevin Coochwytewa (Isleta Pueblo/Hopi), Sebastian Ebarb (Choctaw-Apache Community of Ebarb*), Menaja Ganesh, Dr. Jessica Moore Harjo (Otoe-Missouria/Osage/ Pawnee), John Hudson, Mark Jarma, Neil Patel, Kevin King, Noah Lee (Navajo), Victor Pascual (Navajo/Maya), Sadie Red Wing (Cheyenne River Lakota/Spirit Lake Dakota), Christopher Sleboda, Kathleen Sleboda (Nlaka’pamux), Brian Skeet (Navajo), Chris Skillern (Cherokee Nation), Bobby Joe Smith III (Cheyenne River Lakota), Neebin Southall (Chippewas of Rama), and Leo Vicenti (Jicarilla Apache). More will be announced.
Masthead of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native American tribally published bilingual newspaper, 1828, featuring the Cherokee syllabary created by Sequoyah (Cherokee, ca. 1770–1843).
TDC, part of The One Club for Creativity, will also offer a Type Drives Culture Slack group where conference speakers and registered attendees can further their dialogue during and after the conference.
Logo and branding
Ezhishin’s distinctive logo, developed by type designer and Tulsey Type founder Chris Skillern, is inspired by Cherokee beadwork. With a mind toward Native cultural revitalization and self-determination, Skillern echoed the organic, curvilinear shapes found in Cherokee beadwork to create this custom font lettering in three weights along a variable type axis, which can also be layered. The font is brought to life on the website via coding provided by Eric Jacobsen.
Samarskaya and Southall collaboratively designed the
Ezhishin branding, which draws inspiration from the bright colors of beadwork, powwow regalia, and ribbon skirts.
To register for this first-of-its-kind conference, please visit the Ezhishin website.
Links
- Ezhishin website
- Type Directors Club
- The One Club for Creativity
- Neebin Studios
- “Neebinnaukzhik (Neebin) Southall,” interview by Ksenya Samarskaya, Typographica
* Louisiana state-recognized tribe
