"Thanksgiving kept coming to mind as I viewed the artwork now on display at the Aldrich Museum for Contemporary Art in Ridgefield. The main exhibition, the work of 10 artists both Indian and non-Indian, is called "No Reservations: Native American History and Culture in Contemporary Art."

I was struck by the intensity of the work on view at each gallery, and the political content depicting the effect of the European conquest of Native Americans then and now. Living in Connecticut with the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos gives one a skewed view of contemporary American Indian life. This exhibition brings many other realities into sharp focus.

Since 1975, when he was sentenced to life in prison for allegedly killing of two FBI agents, Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been a beacon in the struggles of Native American people. His guilt or innocence is being debated to this day. At the Aldrich, artist Rigo 23 has recreated Peltier's tiny prison cell. Inside there is some of Peltier's original art work and, in glass boxes and on the floor, there are copies of his appeals, letters and other documents. The steps leading to the Peltier exhibit are marked with each year that he has been imprisoned."

Get the Story:
Bessy Reyna: An Immigrant Steeped In Meaning Of Thanksgiving (The Hartford Courant 11/17)
pwday