taca:kira:kʔickskwa:wa:stic / We had dreams: Art by Wichitas and Descendants

• Dates: January 7–February 2, 2025
  • Curators and Artists Talk: Sunday, January 19, 2:00–4:00 pm
    Will coincide with an OKC Indian Art Club meeting. Free and open to the public | Facebook Event

This group art exhibition is a celebration of Wichita culture and community. Historically, the Wichita were not a single band but a constellation of relative tribes, who are original peoples of the Southern Plains, living in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas for thousands of years. Today, they are federally recognized as the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco, & Tawakonie). Archaeologists call their ancestors the Southern Plains Villagers, who lived in settled villages along riverways. They farmed, traded, and hunted buffalo before European contact and the reintroduction of the horse. Today, they are among the few tribes in Oklahoma whose current land is part of their precontact homelands.

The title, taca:kira:kʔickskwa:wa:stic (We had dreams) is pronounced “tuts-ah-gidahk’itsk-skwah-wah-stits” and was suggested by cultural leader Gary McAdams (Wichita and Affiliated Tribes), since art is a visualization of dreams. He says, “kirikirʔi:s believe that all knowledge comes from kinnike:sas and that many times this knowledge comes to us in the form of dreams.”

Co-curated by Robin Williams (Wichita/Caddo) and America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), this exhibition includes established and emerging artists, including elders and youth.

The opening reception was held on Saturday, January 11, 2025.

Participating Artists

1. Parker Boyiddle Jr. (Kiowa/Wichita/Delaware/Chickasaw, 1947–2007), painter, sculptor
2. Adam Caesar (Pawnee/Kiowa/Wichita/Meskwaki), jewelry | Instagram @adamcaesar50
3. Amy Caesar (Pawnee/Kiowa/Wichita/Meskwaki), beadwork
4. Arlene Caesar (Kiowa/Wichita), beadwork
5. Krystal Caesar Guarderas (Pawnee/Kiowa/Wichita/Meskwaki), beadwork | Instagram @1_little_pawnee_ndn
6. LaVerna Capes (Kiowa/Wichita), beadwork, gallerist, regalia | Facebook
7. Francis Daffron (Wichita/Kiowa/Comanche), drawing
8. Kateri Daffron (Wichita/Kiowa/Comanche), painting | Instagram @kitkatkateri
9. Kay Hokeah (Kiowa/Wichita), painting
10. April Holder (Sac & Fox/Wichita/Tonkawa), painting, printmaking | aprilholderart.com
11. Walter Lamar (Blackfeet/Wichita), photography| Instagram @reluctantelder
12. Brenna Nance (Wichita/Kiowa), photography | Instagram @houseofnance
13. Jill Parker (Comanche/Kiowa/Wichita), painting | Facebook
14. Hayla Parker-Fields (Comanche/Kiowa/Wichita/Cherokee), painting, pottery
15. Sandra Parker-Fields (Comanche/Kiowa/Wichita/Cherokee), painting
16. Terri Brown Parton (Wichita/Caddo), hand-coiled, pit-fired pottery
17. Cannon Ross (Wichita), photography | cannonrossphotos.com
18. Donna Standing Steinberg (Kiowa/Wichita), beadwork
19. Hannah Steinberg (Wichita), painting | Instagram @agatepallets
20. Maya Torralba (Wichita/Kiowa/Comanche), beadwork | Instagram @zaidemomma
21. Robin Williams (Wichita/Caddo/Comanche), painter | Facebook, LinkedIn

Press

• Sam Royka, “Wichita culture celebrated in local art exhibition ‘We Had Dreams’,” Norman Transcript, January 9, 2025, link

Links

• Tribes Gallery, Norman, OK | tribesgalleryok.com
• Wichita Tribal History Center, Anadarko, OK | wichitatribe.com
• Wichita art and cultural items in the National Museum of the American Indian‘s collection | americanindian.si.edu | Wichita bandolier bag