Name: Community Conversation: Speaking of Revolution from Indigenous Perspectives
Start: 2026-06-18T17:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-06-18T19:00:00-04:00
Location: 111 Cedar Street, Corning, NY, United States, New York 14830

Community Conversation: Speaking of Revolution from Indigenous Perspectives

Free and open to the public | Advance registration required
The Rockwell Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is partnering with Humanities New York and Hayden Haynes (Seneca Nation, Deer Clan) on a Community Conversation that will highlight Indigenous Perspectives connected to the idea of “revolution.” The conversation at The Rockwell will focus on the juxtaposition of two works on view in the Museum’s Visions of America Gallery—Harm (2021) by Cannupa Hanska Luger (b. 1979, Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Bethold, Lakhóta (Lakota)) and Mount Whitney (1877) by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902)—offering a compelling framework for exploring narratives of land, history, and identity, and the ongoing impacts of displacement and dispossession experienced by Native peoples. The discussion will explore themes of rupture, return, and renewal through art, particularly in relation to Native American histories and subjects of the American West. We invite participants to reflect on how shared stories are remembered, revised, and reimagined.
- What does it mean to inherit a revolution?
- What do we carry forward, and what do we change?
Speaking of Revolution is Humanities New York’s contribution to By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia in collaboration with local partners.
Together, these programs explore 250 years of the nation’s cultural life and imagine its shared future. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage as a complement to the 2026 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
These conversations create space to reflect, to exchange ideas, and to think together—slowly, and in good faith. Participants should expect to actively contribute and engage with perspectives that may differ from their own.
Space is limited to the first 25 registrants and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Image: Cannupa Hanska Luger (Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, Lakhóta (Lakota), b. 1979), Harm, 2021, ceramic and mixed media, 19 x 53 x 21 in., Art Bridges.