Takes Care of Them, 2019. Screenprints with metallic foil. © 2019 Dyani White Hawk
Four colorful, abstract dresses express the dynamic roles of women, in Dyani White Hawk’s Takes Care of Them suite of screenprints. Individually titled Wówahokuŋkiya | Lead, Wókaǧe | Create, Nakíčižiŋ | Protect, and Wačháŋtognaka | Nurture, the suite honors traditional roles women hold in our lives and values that have been passed down for generations in the artist’s community. As a woman of Sičáŋǧu Lakota and European American heritage, White Hawk fuses modern abstract painting with traditional and contemporary Lakota art forms, reflecting a deep understanding of intergenerational knowledge.
Takes Care of Them is inspired by a traditional practice in White Hawk’s Native community, where veterans stand in each cardinal direction during certain ceremonies. In the artist’s words, “this series is also about extending that recognition beyond those that are doing active duty and recognizing the ways that women protect our communities, nurture our communities, lead our communities, create our communities, and create within our communities."1 There is a deeply personal connection, too—the artist’s own mother is a veteran and each of these images represents a woman important in the artist’s life.
The dress forms of Takes Care of Them are inspired by Plains-style women’s dentalium dresses. The artist presents these in an especially simplified, abstracted manner, connecting the work across centuries of artistic styles from traditional ceremonial Native design to artistic style and technique of 20th century modern art. The traditional ceremonial dresses that inspired these images are generously adorned with seashells shaped like small tusks, strung in a circular pattern around the neck and shoulders.
Dentalium shells hold immense spiritual significance within Indigenous communities. Believed to hold protective or healing capabilities, these precious shells are used in sacred ceremonies and purification rituals. Dentalium is also a traditional status symbol. When used as adornment on ceremonial regalia, the status of the wearer is emphasized.
White Hawk renders each dress in Takes Care of Them with copious amounts of dentalium shells around the collar, signaling their importance. Beautifully adorned with stamped foil, colorful ribbons, and buttons, all elements are symbolic as well as beautiful. White Hawk personifies each dress with its own age, role and personality—from sisters and aunties to mothers and grandmothers—illuminating the various ways our female relatives take care of us.
"Lead," the grandmother of the group, bears traditional ornamentation, inspired by dentalium dresses of the 19th century. She radiates elegance, authority and wisdom in deep, midnight blue.
"Create," in vibrant yellow, is decorated with cheerful bundles of ribbons and shimmers like gold. This glamorous, modernized style of dentalium dress indicates creativity, self-expression and youth.
In vibrant green, White Hawk considers "Protect" an auntie of the group. Her dress is lined with delicate dentalium dragonflies, a symbol of protection.
"Nurture," in bright red, represents the artist’s mother, whose powwow and ceremonial dresses are of the same color.
Takes Care of Them demonstrates White Hawk’s distinct visual language of color and abstraction, expertly fused with culture and history. This powerful set of images invites us to pause and reflect upon the importance of relationships, the value of collective care, and the various ways women strengthen our communities.
[1] Regan, Sheila. “Pushing the Conversation Forward: Dyani White Hawk Interviewed.” BOMB Magazine, September 7, 2020.