OBJECT / RITUAL

I feel shame when I wear my regalia. I feel like a character and a fraud 

wearing feathers, cedar, and beads gifted to me by my beloved community.  Yet, a ritual takes place in my mind when I go from wearing street clothes to wearing my regalia. The ritual pulls courage from my ancestors and relatives all around to assert my personhood into the landscape of history with them. 

I consumed, collected, and displayed these objects pictured. The costumes were found embedded deep in the American consciousness.  The objects are taken, fragmented, and captured out of time and context.  Their beauty and craft are open to a thoughtful gaze considering their meaning.  Suspended in the dark they shine with the loss and sadness for an intimacy given up for the benefits of consumerism and discovery.  

Selena Kearney, Chehalis Tribe

Daughter to Teressa Rosander and Janice Latch 

Granddaughter to Ida Rosander