MISSION — Tamastslikt Cultural Institute in February opened its first guest art exhibit since 2019.

“You Are Here,” the mixed-media exhibition, curated by Sheehan Gallery at Whitman College, was created for a college course on Indigenous aesthetics. It explores themes related to place and identity. Artists exhibited are of Indigenous ancestry, drawing on personal memories and collective histories.

The exhibit at Tamastslikt, east of Pendleton, runs until May 14. Most of the art works Sheehan collected are on display. Some pieces belong to Whitman College, while others are on loan from private collections or the artists themselves.

Tamastslikt curator Randall Melton viewed “You Are Here” at the Sheehan Gallery last fall. He said he asked then if the gallery had plans for the exhibit after it was over.

“They said, ‘Would you like it?’” he recalled.

On the left wall as visitors enter are eight dramatic landscapes by internationally renowned Pendleton native James Lavadour, a member of the Walla Walla Tribe. Next are seven painted portraits by Ric Gendron, who belongs to the Arrow Lakes Band of the Colville Reservation. He has exhibited at Tamastslikt before.

Three lithographs by Apsaalooke (Crow) artist Wendy Red Star follow. They merge historical photos with traditional quilt patterns. Six beadwork creations by Choctaw artist Roger Amerman are displayed in the corner, including a prominent horsehead blanket. The Whitman-educated geologist also goes by Abe-cha-ha (“High Above”).

Nineteen paintings by Melanie Yazzie of the Navajo Nation adorn two walls. More were installed at the Sheehan. In the center of the wall on the right are impressive glass sculptures by Roger’s younger brother, Marcus Amerman, and his Tlingit collaborator, Preston Singletary.

“We always install exhibits carefully, but took extra care with the glasswork,” Melton said.

Staff took the greatest care with the heaviest piece in the middle, a large red circle with green designs reminiscent of Mayan jade.

“We made sure that the braces holding the stand were screwed into studs,” Melton added

By the entrance are displayed fiber art pieces constructed from wool blankets and embroidered by Marie Watt, of the Seneca Nation.

Seminole artist C. Maxx Stevens created nine dollhouse exhibits, displayed in three sets on different sides of the room. Some were inspired by his experiences at what is now the Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, Kansas. Others move nature inside the houses.

“These appeal to me,” Melton said. “In my youth, I was attracted to dioramas. With the dollhouses, you can read into them what most speaks to your own experiences.”

The centerpiece of “You Are Here” is a statue, “Creation with Her Children,” by Mohawk-Blackfoot artist Merritt Johnson, a mother and stepmom of six, and Tlingit-Unangax Nicholas Galanin.

“Creation” is carving her own face, letting the chips fall at her feet, where golden mannikin arms hold open the jaws of two carnivorous mammals. The artists worked with plastic tarp, fabric, cord, wood, horse hair and other materials.

Melton said he looks forward to returning to a regular program of visiting exhibits.

“We are circling back to some of the exhibits we had lined up for 2020 and 2021 but couldn’t install due to the pandemic. The exhibit from the National Bison Foundation was already here, but we never took it out of its crates. We just paid shipping to send it back. We’d already paid for it.”

The bison are returning later this year.