Notes: 

Billy Soza War Soldier, as he was referred to, began as an artist and activist in an era of civil social unrest during the seminal beginnings of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the 60’s and 70’s. Soza was one of the early formative figures at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) working concurrently with TC Cannon, Fritz Scholder, Linda Lomahaftewa, Kevin Red Star, Earl Biss, etc. As much as Soza was respected as an artist, he was equally acknowledged as a modern day “warrior” battling a system of oppressive government policy and racism prevalent in many Indian territories. Sharing the podium with like minded Indian activists such as John Trudell and Dennis Banks, Soza was involved in actions at the Wounded Knee Occupation in 1973, Plymouth Rock, Alcatraz Island, the BIA Takeover in Washington DC and others. In his obituary, Alex Jacobs wrote Soza him as “artist and AIM outlaw”. 

Indian on a Merry-Go-Round conveys a strong statement regarding self and cultural identity, socio-political activism and the relentless hurdles that Native people are confronted with – all maintaining a strong tongue-and-cheek delivery. Native people were hunters, they were providers. Many tribes had adopted and embraced a rich equestrian culture. These were matters of life, death and identity. This ironic image of an Indian on a carnival ride expresses how Native people have been dehumanized and sensationalized - circling round and round and going nowhere - at the expense of cultural heritage and progress.

In the publication Making History: IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Nancy Marie Mithlo writes that “Soza was a student of Fritz Scholder, the IAIA painting instructor whose name would become synonymous with the ‘ugly Indian’ style [this terminology no longer exists within the Native American identity in contemporary art] apparent in this early Soza Canvas. As Alex Jacobs relates, it is a classic story of ‘who-influenced-who’, as both men excelled in this genre of colorful, energetic and distorted figurative works.” 

Although Mithlo was referencing a different painting by Soza, the statement is significant in relation to the artwork on offer. Scholder began his Indian Series in the late 1960’s while teaching at IAIA. Predating this, as well as Soza’s own Self Portrait from 1968, Indian on a Merry-Go-Round may have been an early catalyst for the “New Indian” style.

John Lukavic quotes Soza, who stated, “The rebellious sixties gave us the platform to give back through art.” The artworks in this presentation are among a relatively small known body of work from an important character during the early days of IAIA.