Jimmie Durham’s Building a Nation

Abstract

The author addresses the recent art critical debates about the concept “post-Indian.” In order to connect this abstract term to specific artworks, he performs a close reading of contemporary Cherokee artist Jimmie Durham’s Building a Nation, a 2006 installation and performance. He argues that this work is “post-Indian,” moving past singular identity frameworks and embracing multiple, interconnected lenses of identification. He relates this post-Indian art practice to the process of cultural globalization and to the recovery of indigenous philosophical and political frameworks.