Indigenous Couture Art

Sho Sho Esquiro’s exquisite outfits feature protests against colonial injustices.

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Contemporary Indigenous textile artist Sho Sho Esquiro’s eye-catching outfits are like the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove – they are embedded with political messages to inspire conversations about the injustices of colonialism.

Her work looks like haute couture: elegant gowns and cocktail dresses made from a mixture of traditional materials like fur, beads, moose hide, porcupine quills and dentalium shells, often mixed with non-traditional materials, such as tweed, silk, wool and rayon. Sometimes Esquiro uses acrylic paint to add text and images to the fabric.

Esquiro’s first solo exhibition in Canada, Doctrine of Discovery, is on view at the Bill Reid Gallery in Vancouver until June 5. The title refers to a concept in international law dating back to the 1400s, authorized by the Catholic church and used to legitimize conquest and the appropriation of the land of Indigenous peoples. Its underlying tenet is that land is deemed unoccupied if inhabited by non-Christians and, therefore, free for the taking.

A gown titled Indians Welcome is made mostly of black leather with painted red lettering on the bodice that reads “Indians Welcome.” It also features abalone buttons and ermine. Esquiro created this dress at the invitation of the Ohlone and other Indigenous peoples of San Francisco to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, a protest that started in 1969. The words are from a monumental graffiti wall still on view on Alcatraz.

Another outfit, Pope Francis, displays an upside-down image of Pope Francis. Hanging flags upside down is a signal of distress, so Esquiro considers the dress to be a metaphor for the pain caused by residential schools. The didactic panel notes the pope’s picture will not be righted until the church initiates true reconciliation with residential school survivors.

Kill the Indian, Save the Man is a cashmere wool suit with hand beading that spells out the title backwards so it must be viewed in a mirror to be read. It refers to the goal of residential schools: to teach Indigenous children that their traditional cultures and identities were inferior and to be hated so they could assimilate with settler culture.

Esquiro, raised in Yukon, is of Kaska Dena, Cree and Scottish heritage. These days, she lives in New Westminster, B.C., but returns home frequently to be near her roots and to source traditional materials for her work. It’s also where she reconnects with elders and mentors important to her practice.

The exhibition, curated by Miranda Belarde-Lewis, also includes Esquiro’s paintings, photographs of elders, and a display case that shows other cultural influences in her life.

Esquiro incorporates the purifying actions of meditation and traditional prayer in her work.

“I begin with prayers and smudging,” she says. “I never want to start making art with anger.”

Her art has been featured in museums and shows in places such as Paris, San Francisco and Santa Fe, as well as the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in New York. It has also appeared in fashion magazines, including Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar.

As exquisite as her outfits are, the hard political edge of her work is clear.

“I don’t ever want to get comfortable with my art,” she says. “I ask myself sometimes, ‘Is this too crazy?’ If it is, then I know I’m on the right path.” ■  

Sho Sho Esquiro: Doctrine of Discovery at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art in Vancouver from Sept. 22, 2021 to June 5, 2022.

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Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art

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