James Luna’s sense of identity sprouted from his unique and remarkable understanding of his nationality and through his art he hopes to rectify the American idea of what ‘being an Indian’ means. Luna looks back to traditional forms of art in hopes of refocusing Indian artists …show more content…
For example, The Artifact (Robertson 40) Luna demonstrates the importance a “real” Indian by displaying himself and challenging his viewer to reconsider what they know to be an Indian artifact compared to his cultural and emotional scares that he exposes on his bare skin and on the cards that lay beside him. In one of his performance pieces, Take a Picture with a Real Indian (SmithsonianNMAI), Luna explores his audiences sense of what they believe a real Indian should look like by which outfit they choose to take a picture with him in. Luna creates this reality of how history has played out and works to recreate the knowledge and culture that he believes has been