British Columbia-based artist Andy Everson likes to use dark imagery from “Star Wars” and add traditional Native designs as a way to uplift Native people.
“As a child of the 1970s, I grew up around ‘Star Wars’ and collected all the toys and everything,” Everson said. “Fast forward many years later, I kind of combined my childhood passions with another passion that I grew up with, that’s my Native culture and art forms. So I decided to blend the two as kind of a commentary on colonialism and imperialism, and how as indigenous people we’re able to take those art forms and decorate the signs of imperialism with our own art forms and kind of subvert the meaning behind it.”
Editor’s note: 360 North is under contract with Sealaska Heritage Institute to produce television and online video coverage of Celebration.
