Greendeer-Winneshiek, Artist Statement
“The artwork began as a commission in 2021 when Brandon Winneshiek approached me to paint a portrait of his wife, Josie Greendeer, on her birthday. Initially, it only represented her when Brandon jokingly wanted to include himself in the picture. After some discussion, he checked with his wife for permission to be included in the work. She obliged, and I was provided separate photos of them both to combine and use. Their completed work is collage and mixed media on canvas, but this work on ledger paper was originally to be a study for scale, technique, and color.
As a portrait, it accurately depicts two living Ho-Chunk people in their homeland in Wisconsin. The ceremonial information of the Medicine Lodge isn’t shared with those not initiated. What is depicted is known only to those who recognize the significance of the ceremony at this stage of completion. Josie holds an otter skin bag decorated with beaded tabs on the feet and hands with geometric beadwork along the tail interior; ribbons and silver brooches adorn her blouse and dress. She is wrapped in an applique blanket that matches the ribbon work on her skirt and wears a beaded geometric headband. Brandon is also wrapped in a blanket holding a beaded eagle wing fan and wears beaded leggings; ribbon work applique is worn on the chest and shoulders with a deer tail headdress. Both wear eagle feathers attached atop their head. From their cultural regalia and secular objects or iconography, it is a sight not many will see nor understand without proper context. It is essentially a statement that Ho-Chunk people are still here and continues to practice our culture despite numerous attempts at ethnic cleansing, cultural genocide, and systemic oppression under colonialism.
Henry Payer, Greendeer-Winneshiek, 2022
The photographs symbolize their “birthdays” and commitment to the Ho-Chunk way of life or WoSHga. This ceremony requires one to give their life to this way of being, which encompasses the Ho-Chunk culture and lifeways in connection to the land. Individually both have given themselves in different years: Brandon’s birthday is 2016, and Josie’s is 2021. To live in this manner is an arduous path, one of divine nature and reward in the overall continuum of our Ho-Chunk culture. The amount of time dedicated to the ceremonies and love that goes into their regalia and objects of prayer is countered only by the community support to put on such a large ceremony that lasts days and nights.
As they committed to this way of life, Josie and Brandon also married in 2014. Both are enrolled citizens of the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin. Brandon Winneshiek is a Marine Corp. veteran who served in the Iraq War and currently is the case manager for Ho-Chunk Veterans Supportive Housing, which provides help to homeless and at-risk Ho-Chunk veterans. Josie Greendeer is an independent curator, traditional artist, and the current director of the Ho-Chunk Museum. She also holds a Master of Arts in Museology from the University of Washington. She is also a doctoral student in Civil Society and Community Research at the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Along with being parents, both are setting the example of living a way of life almost lost after continued efforts and historical cycles of relocation of the Ho-Chunk people.” – Henry Payer