Beam, a Canadian artist of Ojibwe descent, was known for his use of juxtaposition to address political issues by presenting the relationship between humans, the environment, and time, in ways that explore alternative histories. His work often compares the archetypal Native American image, to images of his own family members⁠—a redefinition of First Nation Peoples as modern rather than artifacts of the past. The concept of time is seen in Beam’s work as he reminds audiences that Native peoples are not a group solely of the past, but are living people in the modern world; his goal is to escape the singular historical perspective of the discoverer. In this piece, Beam writes in pencil under the photographs.

–Daniella Onofre, Colgate Class of 2023