Living Indigenous showcases and celebrates the creative contributions of Indigenous artists living in and connected to the Delaware community. The exhibition aims to create space for artists to explore and share what it means to be an Indigenous artist at the United States’ 250th anniversary. Utilizing this commemorative year, Living Indigenous ensures that broader stories of the inhabitants of Turtle Island are centered, pairing intergenerational artists as a means to share knowledge and history from the past and link those narratives to today.
The exhibition developed from past projects undertaken by DelArt in partnership with the Nanticoke Indian Association. These include the annual Powwows of Arts and Culture and the November 2025 program, Living Indigenously: Through the Culture of Fashion. Cultural Programs Manager Iz Balleto reflects, “We are truly building an honorable legacy when it comes to collaborating with our Indigenous communities and local tries. Our goal is to ensure their footprint is felt through the arts and culture.”
Left to right: Celebrating Ribbons, 2024. Rebecca Jackson-Square (born 1978). Acrylic on board, 16 × 20 inches. Collection of the artist. © Rebecca Jackson-Square. “Everybody’s Got Roaches.”, 2022. Renita Coursey (born 1992). Scrap hide, Miyuki Delica beads, Czech seed beads, Turquoise beads, and sterling silver fingernail posts, each: 2 3/4 × 2 3/4 inches. Collection of the artist. © Renita Coursey.
The checklist development for Living Indigenous was a collective effort. I worked closely with Nanticoke Indian Museum Curator Therese Avedillo. Together we selected a range of artworks that platform Indigenous creativity and imagination. Included are elders Leonard A. Harmon and Doris Price whose portraits are striking images of family members and friends. Charlie “Wild Horse” Sammons” and Rebecca “Little Turtle Who Sees” Jackson-Square capture Indigenous traditions and rituals while Leonard D. Harmon and Terrance Vann explore identity and representation. In her beadwork, Renita Coursey references personal associations. Therese expressed, “The Nanticoke Indian Museum is very pleased to have Nanticoke artists represented in this exhibition. It is an honor to be able to present the artwork of talented tribal members to the public through the Delaware Art Museum.”
Left to right: Self, 2017. Terrance Vann (born 1991). Acrylic and spray, enamel on canvas, 7 × 5 ft. Courtesy of the artist. © Terrance Vann. 7 Coins For 7 Generations, 2025. Leonard Durham Harmon (born 1983). Acrylic oxidized copper shavings paper on wood panel, 27 × 22 × 2 inches. Collection of the artist. © Leonard Harmon Fine Art.
To complement this exhibition, works of art by Indigenous artists from across the nation have been installed throughout the Museum. Visitors are invited to tour the collection galleries to view other perspectives and stories from the 20th and 21st centuries such as the 2022 DelArt commissions by Will Wilson and Andre’ Wright, Jr.
Ms. Sarah “Stump” Johnson and Chief Avery “Leaving Tracks” Johnson in Mother and Son—Assistant Chief Avery “Leaving Tracks” Johnson and Ms. Sarah “Stump” Johnson, Citizens of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe, 2022. Will Wilson (born 1969). Archival pigment print from wet plate collodion scan, image: 19 1/2 × 15 3/8 in., sheet: 22 1/4 × 17 in. Delaware Art Museum, F. V. du Pont Acquisition Fund, 2022. © Will Wilson.