Laughing Indian

After moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to teach at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), Indigenous artist Fritz Scholder became frustrated with the many idealized depictions of Indigenous people that he saw. In 1967, he began his groundbreaking "Indian" series to counter these stereotypical images and to show the realities he witnessed daily. With its realism, bold colors influenced by Pop Art, and expressive brushstrokes, this portrait illustrates how Scholder created radical new imagery of modern Indigenous life. He would go on to influence a generation of Indigenous students during his time at IAIA.