“Naadą́ą́’ Ch’iiyáán Nitsísiiłkeis” / “Corn Foods Make Me Think”
Collaborators’ Q&A: Jennifer Elise Foerster: The deep roots of our diverse languages are still here. The roots, like that of a forest, are speaking with one another. Let us become better listeners. Artist Regin Igloria: …re-purposing cardboard packaging is common in my practice, but I didn’t have any in my cupboards. The image was so clear in my mind—the particular yellow, blue, and red color relationship—so I spent quite a bit of time figuring out how I could get to a grocery store so late at night. Poet Michelle Whitstone: I expected the artist to see corn differently—which he did, in his own way that paralleled the reason for the exposure of those words. They were meant to help us see way beyond just words and existence. I appreciate the shifted lens and how the industrialist mindset does affect our precious ecosystems.
Diné Poet, Michelle Rose Whitstone, originally hails from Rock Point, Arizona. She’s currently assistant professor at Diné College’s main campus in Tsaile, Arizona and an advocate for Indigenous heritage languages. She constantly reminds those around her: We cannot respect that which we do not understand. Artist Regin Igloria maintains a multidisciplinary studio practice which revolves around teaching, working in arts administration, and education. In 2010, he founded North Branch Projects, a community program based in Albany Park, Chicago, to help expand the creativity of others through book arts. Guest Editor Jennifer Elise Foerster is the author of three books of poetry, most recently, The Maybe-Bird, and served as the Associate Editor of When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry. Foerster grew up living internationally, is of European and Mvskoke descent, and is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma. She lives in San Francisco.