Co-authored by Principal Chief Chadwick Corntassel Smith of the Cherokee Nation, Cherokee-Osage scholar Rennard Strickland, and Cherokee philosopher Benny Smith, Building One Fire beautifully portrays the diversity and variety of the art of over eighty Cherokee artists, past and present, and in a wide variety of media. The entire manuscript is thematically organized around the concept of the One Fire, which represents a specific Cherokee worldview held by members of the tribe’s Keetoowah Society. After a Cherokee prayer, the introductory section of the book contains an opening message from Chad Smith, teachings about the four directions by Benny Smith, and a narrative interview of Benny Smith by Rennard Strickland that philosophically discusses the roles of Cherokee art and artists. The first section of the book serves well in its attempt to inform readers about Keetoowah philosophy, while at the same time connecting Cherokee Nation worldview to art as an expression of spirituality, purpose, and identity.
Crucial to the worldview of Building One Fire are the gifts from the four messengers of the cardinal directions that are bestowed upon each individual by Nitsudunvha (One Who is Always Above). Those gifts—guardianship, harmony, and caring from the east; knowledge, curiosity, and intellect from the north; wisdom, insight, and trust from the west; and, compassion, loyalty, and strong feeling from the south, are represented in individual chapters which form the body of the work. Closing the circle by ending at the beginning, a final direction, “Center,” returns to the One Fire as the central creative philosophy from which all things Cherokee emanate. Owing to the interconnected nature of Keetoowah worldview, the art pieces presented in the individual chapters above are not sorted according to medium, historical period, or theme, but instead are organized philosophically in order to represent the universality and complexity of what it means to be Cherokee in the contemporary world. The individual works of basketry, painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography, textiles, and jewelry, accompanied by artists’ narrative statements, cultural explanations, and historical accounts, are meant to both explain and educate how each individual artist interprets her or his individual gifts and purpose. In an epilogue, Building One Fire points to the future of the Cherokee Nation’s art and society by presenting the artistic worldviews of its children.
In his opening message, Chad Smith states that “this book is not primarily an art book.” I would heartily agree with that statement, but with one proviso. Building One Fire is art in its truest sense. Going well beyond the façade of visual representation, every inch of the book––from the outside jacket, to the inside cover detail, to the narrative prayers in Cherokee script and English that flow through the heading spaces of each chapter––is brimming with artistic and cultural expression. In this respect, the entire book can be viewed as an art piece, a prayer, or an offering that is open to unlimited perspectives of interpretation and understanding. Even the cryptic subtitle Art +[“plus”] World View in Cherokee Life presents art as an integral aspect of existence. It is hard to find a better representation of indigenous cultural thought and practice.
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[Review length: 517 words • Review posted on June 23, 2011]