By VELENCIA TSO-YAZZIE
SANTA FE—In hopes of preventing more suicides in his family and other families, IAIA senior Herbert Clayton Napie exhibited his serene photographs at the Primitive Edge Gallery at the Institute of American Indian Arts on April 16th.
“Clay’s project was most memorable of the Spring 2007 Senior Exhibits,” an onlooker said.
Napie originally planned to display images of the deceased on guitars and skateboards with a working title of, “Death and Life.”
“I didn’t want the guitars and skateboards to overpower the message I was trying to convey,” Napie said in a phone interview.
Images were displayed on RC glossy paper mounted on foam core to bring out the presence of the deceased. Digital images of poems and letters last written were displayed with such digital quality. Lenticular printing, an animation effect that shows depth and movement as the viewing angle changes, was used to give the effect of loss.
In one photograph, Teddy Castiano Jr. stood amongst an abundant land, his silhouette disappearing, a movement that was most effective in the show.
“Lenticular printing and putting the text over the images worked very well. It was more effective and more people responded to the content rather than the technical part,”
Napie continued.Photographs of Nehemiah Castiano who died in 2005 at the age of 23, as well as photographs of his two daughters, and his family were among those displayed. The path he took while twirling his hankerchief and giving his grandmother a last smile was presented on RC glossy paper along with the letter he had left behind.
Next to this, poems written by Shani Castinano who died in 2004 at the age of 14, brought tears to family, friends, and strangers who viewed the show.
Last but not least, black and white photos of Teddy Castiano Jr., who died in 2002 at the age of 19, showed him holding his niece and another niece he never got to meet.
Drawing Family Together
“People asked me why they killed themselves. My response was…I don’t know,” Napie said.
In a statement above Teddy’s photos, Napie wrote that there were no signs that these young individuals were depressed or had intended to end their lives.
“This project has brought me closer to my family. It also probably brought my family closer together, too,” Napie said.
“Jinniibaah and Dorothy have given me support with the technical part of the show…but my mother was there for the emotional support, giving me the strength,” Clay said, expressing his appreciation toward his girlfriend and peer at IAIA, Jinniibaah Manuelito, photography instructor, Dorothy Grandbois, and his mother, Linda Dudley.
“Clay has revealed our personal journey for others to see what we have experienced. It was powerful, and a way of healing on this journey we have been through in the last five years,” Dudley said.
Through tears, Dudley expressed her feelings toward her son’s senior project. Her gratitude and confidence in Napie was evident. “I see Clay’s interest in what’s real and personal. In the future I see him as a strong artist, taking his work to show what is important.”
Napie plans to continue his work in hopes of reaching out to the community to make them aware of the problem Native Americans face: a high percentage rate of suicides that can be prevented. He starts with his family by paying a tribute to the loved ones who left his life.
“It still gets to me every time I think about it, but it makes me feel better about how I gave all three of them a tribute and paid my respect to them. We’re on the road to healing now.”
Research On Suicide Continues
Why these people had to go at such a young age we may never know. Researchers continue to look at this issue that has become an epidemic among Native Americans.
In 2000, a report, released by an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Indian Health Service, showed that 33.9 per 100,000 American Indian youth commit suicide each year, a rate 2.5 times the national rate for all youth. This raises a question: Why do Native Americans have a higher percentage rate of suicides than other races?
According to the Missouri Department of Mental Health, “Life on the reservation, with its high rates of unemployment and substance abuse, and an exclusion from society's mainstream, have led to suicide rates on some reservations five times that of the general population.”
Another group of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that “racial discrimination is one factor highly correlated with suicidal behavior for American Indian youth.”
WU also found that among the Native American suicides at two Southwest locations, “Suicidal behavior that were unique to reservation youth were depression, a family history of drug abuse, alcohol abuse (in the youth), an arrest history, and racial discrimination.”
Dorreen Yellow Bird’s online article, “Suicides at Standing Rock Reservation,” in the CounterPunch Newsletter states that any publicity of suicide can be dangerous. It can be a danger if youth look at what other youth are doing and pull a copycat. On the other hand, it can be an eye opener for parents and youth that there is a problem that needs to be faced.
Herbert Clayton Napie Jr. is doing just that with his artwork.
Copyright © IAIA CHRONICLE 2007
“Clay has revealed our personal journey for others to see what we have experienced. It was powerful, and a way of healing on this journey we have been through in the last five years.” Linda Dudley, Mother of Herbert Clayton Napie
In 2000, a report, released by an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Indian Health Service, showed that 33.9 per 100,000 American Indian youth commit suicide each year, a rate 2.5 times the national rate for all youth.