Siren Arts Residency 2017
Siren Arts is an artist residency & exhibition program for emerging visual artists in Asbury Park, NJ.
The Lenni - Lenape, A tribal nation of over 3,000 members traces its roots back over 12,000 years ago in New Jersey. Since 1982 the state legislature passed resolutions recognizing only three tribes in New Jersey, one of them being the Nanticoke Lenni - Lenape. From the 1980’s until 2011 there has been no question of their recognition by the state.
However, in 2012, the GAO was informed by the NJ Commission on Indian Affairs via the Acting Attorney General, that there are no State-Recognized tribes. The motivation for revoking the tribes status is through a stereotype/racially driven view from current NJ government officials that recognition is a pathway to opening a casino; regardless of documents expressing that the Lenape wholly prohibit gaming.
That new status, without due process, has created even more oppression for the once recognized Lenni -Lenape.
The tribe sought peaceful efforts to rescind the statement by means of the Attorney General and other representatives from the Governor’s office, but ultimately the Lenni - Lenape were told that the administration would not work to resolve the issue.
In 2015, the lawsuit Lenni - Lenape vs. New Jersey was filed.
Without State-Recognition, the adversities the Lenni-Lenape and other Tribal Nationsface include; The loss of dozens of tribal jobs, The ability to sell artwork and crafts as “Indian-Made” which has lost the Lenape close too $300k annually, withdrawal of membership in organizations such as the National Congress of American Indians, Over $600k in designated federal and state programs for state-recognized tribes, but most importantly, the loss of recognition jeopardizes the ethnic, cultural, and religious traditions of each tribe. Furthermore, it prohibits public awareness of the people who are still here and indigenous to these lands.
Many of us have felt or acted with racial or cultural bias in one way or another. Even with common phrases like ‘’America is a nation of immigrants”, those words alone, completely negate the existence of Native American and First Nation peoples. We must acknowledge this dialogue and these actions and let them out of our language and our movements. Racism and prejudices need to be made aware of and healed from our ancestry and the patterns of our daily lives. We must unite with Love and Light, Peace and Compassion. We have to remember, We are all connected, We are one.
Audio interview recording with Rev. Dr. John Norwood, Tribal Councilman Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation 2017
Promised Land Residency 2014
Asbury Park, NJ through Transformer DC
Always Here: An Homage to the Lenni Lenape
Upcycled mixed media assemblage, reclaimed wood, found objects
Crystal Stokowski's installation addresses the absence of recognition for the Lenni Lenape, New Jersey’s indigenous people. In today's hastily developed and disposable culture, autochthonous civilizations who have thrived sustainably are often forgotten. Stokowski's wigwam, an homage to the traditional Lenape home, is constructed from repurposed and found materials and sewn with endemic bark patterns that she silk screened in neutral tones. Her approach magnifies this peaceful structure, which encourages a deeper awareness and reflection to the once flourishing Lenape nation. She provides a place to sit and contemplate the dwelling with a free zine as a memento
transformer dc presents promised land
Promised Land is generously supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Madison Marquette and Asbury Park Waterfront.
Clocktower Gallery Residency & Art on Air 2014
New York City
Starting October 28th, come see Crystal Stokowski and watch how she intertwines her psychedelic screen prints with monochromatic pyrographs. Stokowski's patterns are formative to her experiences with the sea and the transcendent mysticisms of Oceania. This new work is inspired by Crystal's surf travels of the Pacific ocean and her part time residence in Oahu, Hawaii. This installation will involve repurposed and found materials as well as video and soundscapes from the artists travels.
This installation connects the oral stories told to Stokowski in Hawaii, Aotearoa, Australia, and the Philippines about their aumakua, or spirit guide/family protector who can take shape in many forms along with the origin of the triangle or shark tooth found in tattoos, art, and sacred spaces in many places in Oceania.
Crystal Stokowski's Clocktower Gallery project is supported, in part, by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.