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Exhibits and Programs
Each year, the Schingoethe Center hosts a variety of events and programs designed to help inform the public about many aspects of Native American cultures, both in historical and contemporary contexts. Unless otherwise noted, these events and programs are free and open to the public (donations are welcome and provide a necessary element of support for our operations). Museum and Exhibit Hours vary according to the time of year. Please refer to our schedule for details. If you wish to bring a group, we ask that you contact us in advance so that we may be sure of adequate seating (630-844-7843, or museum@aurora.edu).Click here for driving directions to the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures at Aurora University.
2009/2010 Exhibits and Programs
The Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures
and
The Schingoethe Gallery
All Events Are Free and Open to the Public Unless Otherwise Noted
Some Programs Require Reservations
Peoples of the Plateau:
the Indian Photographs of Lee Moorhouse,
1898-1915
Exhibit of 51 Black and White Photographs
In 1898, amateur photographer Thomas Leander "Lee" Moorhouse began recording scenes in and around Pendleton, Oregon. His 9,000 glass plate negatives are little known today, but they provide a rich and important visual record of the interior Pacific Northwest as it transitioned from frontier life to the modern era.
Born in 1850 in Iowa, Moorhouse traveled with his family in 1861 by ox-drawn wagon across the Plains and settled in Washington Territory. As an adult, he was employed as an Indian Agent and became friends with the local Tribes. One of his most famous portraits is of Chief Joseph.
The photographic exhibit will be on display in the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures, September 22, 2009 - January 3, 2010
Opening Reception Tuesday, September 22, 4:30-7:00 p.m.
Corresponding lecture - "A Traditional Woman in a Contemporary World" with Marjorie Waheneka, November 4th. See below.
"Poetry, Art, and Myth: Directions Old and New in Hopi Culture"
A Presentation by Ramson Lomatewama
Ramson Lomatewama is a multi-talented Hopi artist from Hoatvela, Arizona. His life on the Hopi Reservation is at the heart of his art and poetry. He speaks his native language and is an active participant in his religion. Ramson is a successful jeweler, glass blower, stained glass artist, poet and traditional style Katsina doll carver. He lectures all over the country. Ramson carves his Kachinas the old way using obsidian as tool to work the cottonwood root. He uses natural pigments in all of his painting.
He has published three books of poetry: Silent Winds: Poetry of One Hopi; Ascending the Reed; and Drifting Through Ancestor's Dreams. He is also a consultant in the areas of creative writing, glass art, and cultural anthropology.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
"A Traditional Woman in a Contemporary World" with Marjorie Waheneka
Lecture corresponding with the exhibit Peoples of the Plateau: The Indian Photographs of Lee Moorhouse, 1898-1915 and Native American Heritage Month.
Marjorie Waheneka is a member of the Confederated Umatilla Tribes of Eastern Oregon. She is the Naami Nishaycht Living History Coordinator at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute in Walla Walla, Washington. Ms. Waheneka will share some of the challenges of adhering to traditional beliefs in a contemporary world from a woman's perspective.
Ms. Waheneka is a woman of the Long House, where she practices the Natitayt (Indian) way. She is a food gatherer and preserves all the roots, berries, fish and meat brought into the home for use at the Long House during funerals and special ceremonies. She is a teacher to anyone who wants to learn about the Indian way.
Waheneka has served on various local and national committees as a tribal consultant for permanent museum exhibits ("By Hand Through Memory" at The High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon), traveling exhibits ("Lewis & Clark and the Indian Country - The Native American Perspective" at The Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois), books relating to the care of Indian artifacts ("Caring for American Indian Objects: A Practical and Cultural Guide" edited by Sherelyn Ogden, Minnesota Historical Society Press 2004), written articles for special edition releases (Oregon Historical Quarterly FALL 2005 Vol. 106, No. 3 "Indian Perspectives on Food and Culture") and magazines.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. (Aurora University students, faculty and staff only) and 7:00 p.m. (public lecture)
Frida Kahlo
Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray
Exhibit of 46 Color Photographs
Nickolas Muray captures famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) in photographs. Between 1920 and 1940, Nickolas Muray made over 10,000 portraits of such celebrities as Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Eugene O'Neill and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He began photographing Frida Kahlo in color in the winter of 1938-1939, while Kahlo was in New York attending her exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery, and he continued to do so until 1948. Muray photographed Frida more often than any other single person. While married to famous Mexican Muralist, Diego Rivera, Kahlo and Muray had a ten-year affair which resulted in intimate portraits and unlimited access to the artist.
The exhibit in the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures at Aurora University is part of a national tour over a two and a half year period containing forty-six photographic prints reproduced from the original negatives.
Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures
February 2 - March 28, 2010
Opening Reception Tuesday, February 2, 4:30-7:00 p.m.
Intrigue and Novelty
April 1 - June 30, 2010
Contemporary Native American Women artists interpret their world and their place in it through painting, drawing, and photography.
Artists: Christine Caluya, Amber Gunn Gauthier, Nadya Kwandibens, Linda Lomahaftewa, Erica Lord, America Meredith, Rose B. Simpson, Debra Yepa-Pappan, also featuring work by young Native artists.
Opening Reception Tuesday, April 6, 2010 4:30-7:00 p.m.
Image at right: "Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe (This is not a pipe)," Debra Yepa-Pappan, 2008, digital media, 15" x 10"
Filmmaker Ric Burns
Tecumseh, Native America and the Other American Dream
Well-known filmmaker Ric Burns will give a talk based on his recent ninety-minute documentary film, which is part of a five-part PBS series on the history of Native America entitled, We Shall Remain. His segment chronicles the story of the life and times of the great Shawnee warrior and politician, from his birth in the Ohio River Valley in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War, down through his death on the field of battle during the War of 1812.
March 17, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in Crimi Auditorium
March 17, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. in Perry Theatre (Aurora University students, faculty, and staff only). Informal dialogue with the students.
This event is featured as one of Aurora University's Celebrating Arts and Ideas programs. It is free and open to the public. However, reservations are required. To make a reservation, please call Arts and Ideas at (630) 844-4924.
A public screening of the documentary film will take place March 11, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. in the Schingoethe Museum.
Ongoing Exhibits
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"Native Peoples of Illinois: There's No Place Like Home" |
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"From Bark to Beads" Curator: MST 2200 Museum Exhibitions Students Open from April 24, 2009 - Present From the east to the west, from the north to the south, basket-making was an art form that has been a part of Native American cultures for thousands of years dating from as early as 7,500 B.C. Baskets were used in the Native Americans' daily lives, and each culture area developed different forms, materials, construction techniques, and uses for baskets. Over time, each region perfected their way of basket-making. In the Northeast Woodlands region, birch bark became the main material since the birch tree was common to the area. The Southwest were among the tribes that used glass seed beads to decorate their baskets. In the Plateau region, splints and roots of cedar were used to make large storage containers. These baskets from the permanent collection highlight the artistry, history, and importance of baskets in the lives, past and present, of the First Nations. This exhibit was created and developed by students in Aurora University's Museum Studies program. |
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"Children in Native America" Curator: Meg Bero Open from September 23, 2003 - Present |
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"Skystone and Silver-- Jewelry of the Southwest" Curator: Dr. Michael Sawdey
Open September 23, 2003 - Present |
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Nizhnoni Gallery and "The World of Kachina" Curator: Meg Bero
The Nizhoni ("beauty" in Navajo) Southwest Gallery, located in the corner of the Main Gallery, offers an enchanting glimpse into the Native American Southwest. Timbered and plastered in a design reminiscent of the pueblo architecture of the Southwest, this new gallery showcases the Schingoethe's extensive collection of materials from the Southwest culture area. The current exhibit in the Nizhoni Gallery features a large selection of Kachina dolls, both contemporary and historic, along with displays telling the history of Kachina dolls, explaining the Hopi ceremonial cycle, and showing how we know the appearance of the many Kachinas in the Hopi tradition.
Take a closer look at some of the dolls on display, and see how these Kachinas were represented by Hopi artists over a century ago. For classroom use or further study an Exhibit Companion is available for purchase at the Museum Store. |
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Additional On-going Exhibits on Display
- "It was only a New World to Columbus" - Stone Tools and the Timeline of Human History in the Americas.
- Navajo Weaving Traditions
- Plains Indian Life--including lifeways that revolved around the buffalo and the horse.
- Southwest Pottery
- "The Tarahumara of Copper Canyon" - Artifacts from a unique community in an isolated area of Northern Mexico.
- Lifting Prayer: Sacred Plants and the Schingoethe Pipe Bag Collection
- The Native American Church: Tradition and Adaptation
The Schingoethe Gallery
Current Events and Exhibits 2009/2010
...of a Feather
Drawings and Prints by Peter Olson
September 8 - October 31, 2009
Birds metaphorically represent the vast and complex natural world on many levels. Although we as humans understand them in many ways, something about birds remains elusive, distant and unknowable. They are always flying away from us.
Opening Reception Tuesday, September 8, 4:30-7:00 p.m.
Image at left: "Palm Warbler," Peter Olson, 2007, mixed media, 29 1/2" x 21 1/2"
Aurora, Apollo and Others: Narrative Paintings by J. M. Mesplé
November 3, 2009 - January 2, 2010
Mythological imagery within a contemporary context is explored in the paintings, drawings and prints of J. M. Mesplé.
Opening Reception Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Lecture by the artist follows immediately.
Image at left: "Elixir of Love," J. M. Mesplé, 2009, egg tempera and oil on canvas, 48" x 36"
Aurora University Faculty/Staff Fine Art Show
January 12 - February 25, 2010
Many Aurora University faculty and staff lead a double life: artist/teacher, administrator, graphic artist, etc. The visual creativity of the AU community will be on display in this third (not annual) AU Faculty/Staff show.
Opening Reception Thursday, January 14, 2010, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Annual High School Art Show
The artwork of St. Charles North High School students will be on display in the Schingoethe Gallery during the Aurora University Annual High School Art Show from March 3-31. An opening reception and scholarship awards program will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. March 3 in the gallery at Dunham Hall, 1400 Marseillaise Place in Aurora. Scholarship presentations will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Images: (clockwise) Jessica Lewandowski, Jake Zitko, Kelli Alderman, Laura Kaplan, Alex Wasson, Matt Wienecke
AU Senior Exhibition (Students TBA)
April 1 - September 1, 2010
Archive of Past Programs and Exhibits
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April 7 - September 7, 2009
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Ninth Annual Aurora University Student Show |
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March 26, 2009
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An Evening with Edgar Heap of Birds
In his presentation, Heap of Birds wil discuss his installation, "Most Serene Republics," at the 52nd Venice Biennale. This 2007 piece was sponsored by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. This is a free presentation and open to the public. To R.S.V.P., please contact the Schingoethe Center at 630-844-7843 or museum@aurora.edu. |
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March 3 - March 31, 2009
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 Annual High School Art Show - St. Charles East High School |
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February 2 - April 25, 2009
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With a Little Help From Our Friends: Gifts and Loans from Local Collectors Since opening its doors in 1990, the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures has been the recipient of the generosity of collectors in the area. Families seeking a good home for their treasures have donated them to the museum. Others have loaned their collections to help the museum present a particular exhibit made possible only by the loan of materials not in the museum's collection. We would like to share these artifacts and the wonderful stories of those who collected them. This is our way of saying a very large thank you! |
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January 8 - February 25, 2009
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"Confrontation/Contemplation" Featuring Mike Knierim and Carolyn Bernstein
Mike Knierim Mike Knierim states, "Where you place your attention determines all." Knierim tends to place his attention at the boundaries where things converge. Such boundaries include encounters between natural and man-made, past and present, present and future, light and dark, right and wrong, have and have-not, levity and seriousness. The list goes on...
Carolyn Bernstein The guiding features of Bernstein's work are questions about what sparks and sustains curiosity and empathy. Her work explores ideas of transcience, loss, and transformation. "I find meaning and poignancy through an artistic practice that demands the careful and sustained examination of things that our culture discards, overlooks, or chooses not to talk about." |
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November 19, 2008
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Sherman Alexie: A Day at Aurora University |
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January 31 - April 25, 2008
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Weapons of Mass Media Featuring work by Bunky Echo-hawk (Pawnee/Yakama) Curated by Meg Bero, Executive Director of the Schingoethe Center Opening Reception Thursday, January 31, 2008, 4:30-7:00 p.m. |
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March 27 - April 27, 2007
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"In Citizen's Garb: Southern Plains Indians, 1889-1891," a vintage photography display |
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March 14, 2007
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Alisse Portnoy: White Women Demanding Their Right To Speak: Native American Scholar To Speak at Aurora University March 14 (click to read press release) |
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September 14 - October 27, 2006
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Image at right: "Untitled," Marissa Bero, 2005, mixed media |
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October 3, 2006
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Gwich’in Elder, Florence Thomas Gwich’in elder Florence Thomas is from the Old Crow reservation in Canada. Through an informal talk with artifacts from her reservation, she will share her culture. Florence will be speaking specifically about the drilling for oil in the ANWAR (Alaska National Wildlife Refuge) and its impact on her people and their traditional way of life. |
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October 5, 2006
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Ingrid Wendt and Ralph Salisbury Born and raised in Aurora, Illinois, Ingrid Wendt has been a three-time Fulbright professor in Germany, and guest lecturer at several international universities. She is the author of five books of poems, two anthologies, a book-length teaching guide, and numerous articles and reviews. Winner of the D.H. Lawrence Award, the Oregon Book Award, the Yellowglen Prize, the Editions Prize, and the Carolyn Kizer Award, Ingrid will be reading and discussing the origins of poems from her last two prizewinning books, The Angle of Sharpest Ascending, and Surgeonfish: wanderings through the world, through history, and through the heart. She and her husband, Ralph Salisbury, live in Eugene, Oregon. Ralph Salisbury, Professor Emeritus at the University of Oregon, is the author of two books of short fiction and eight books of poetry, War in the Genes, (Cherry Grove Collections, 2006), the most recent. He has received many awards, among them a Rockefeller, a Chapelbrook, a Northwest Poetry Award; two Fulbright professorships, to Germany and Norway; and an Amparts (USIS) lectureship in India. He will read selections from his published work and present a talk based on his experience as a Native American poet, fiction writer and story teller and on his co-translating Sami (Lapp) poetry. |
| 2006 NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE WEEK OF CELEBRATION | |
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November 6, 2006
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Exhibit—A Moment in Time , Curator: Meg Bero Image at left: "Polishing Pottery," H. Nichols Sr., Annual Report 1882 plate XL from the Bureau of American Ethnology, care of the Schingoethe Center's rare book collection |
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November 6 -10, 2006
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Native American Film Series (Titles TBA - call 630-844-5402 after October 15th for details) |
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November 7, 2006
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John Wesley Powell (1834-1902)—Bill Steinbacher-Kemp (this talk corresponds with our exhibit A Moment In Time) In 1869, John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War Veteran from Illinois, led an epic three-month expedition through the last unmapped section of the continental United States – the canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers. After attaining national fame as the “Conqueror of the Grand Canyon,” Powell became the architect for the federal science bureaucracy, organizing and leading the U.S. Geological Survey and the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of Ethnology. This lecture is illustrated and is based on primary source research. Bill Steinbacher-Kemp holds two MS degrees, the first in History from ISU, and the second in Public Affairs Reporting from the Uof I at Springfield. He has given numerous public lectures and tours concerning Illinois history, in addition to being a fulltime archivist and librarian at the McLean County Museum of History. His talk is presented through the “Road Scholars” program of the Illinois Humanities Council. |
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November 8, 2006
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Native American Dance Workshop—Lance Tallmadge (University Banquet Hall) Are you ready to dance?! Join Lance Tallmadge (Ho Chunk) and his company as he teaches us to dance Native American style. Lance and his colleagues will share why dance is so important to their traditions, the symbolic meaning in their dances and regalia and the place of the drum in all Native cultures. Then everyone will join the dance circle! There is an admission charge for members of the public, and advance reservations are required because of limited space (630-844-7841). |
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November 8, 2006
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Native American Club Supper Meeting—Learning about Powwow Traditions—Rita Reynolds (University Banquet Hall) Following the Dance Workshop: Supper meeting of Dreamcatchers, the Aurora University Native American Club. Open to the public by advance reservation; there is a charge for dinner (call 630-844-7841). Supper includes Native American foods and is accompanied by a teaching on the history, traditions, and techniques of dancing in the context of the powwow, by elder Rita Reynolds (Dakota). |
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November 10, 2006
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Woodland and Ojibwa Spirituality—Nick Hockings Nick Hockings (Ojibwa) offers a world view of the Ojibwa and Woodlands people by focusing on the Madoodooswan (Sweat Lodge). The Sweat is a ceremony done by all tribes for cleansing and healing. Nick will delineate all aspects of the ceremony and relate them to the spiritual views of his people. Hockings is a Cultural Consultant and the creator of Was-Wagoning, a recreated Ojibwa village in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin. Nick is also famous for building the wigwam in the Schingoethe Center! |
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February 15, 2006 - May 1, 2006
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Curated by Meg Bero, Executive Director of the Schingoethe Center Erica Lord (Athabaskan/Inupiaq), Chris Pappan (Osage, Lakota), Debra Yeppa-Pappan (Jemez Pueblo, Korean) Image at right: "Fox Delegate to Washington D.C.", Chris Pappan, 2005, Acrylic on Wood Panel, 77.5" x 108", collection the Schingoethe Museum |
Bernstein and Knierim face the world head-on in this show about issues of war, loss and humanity. Life is messy. In "Confrontation/Contemplation," the goal is not to prescribe answers but, in their belief that art can evoke empathy and thus change, to simply present in the power of the visual the opportunity to reflect. Curator: Meg Bero
For Knierim these things are all metaphors for the border between the conscious and subconscious aspects of ourselves. Knierim seeks to create images and experiences which mediate between these levels of consciousness and reflect the dual nature of our being. "My ultimate goal is to express myself in a manner that has the capacity to improve our lives by creating greater awareness and understanding of ourselves, our neighbors and the world at large."
First Light II: New Artists, New Work
Opening reception 4:00 – 6:00 p.m
