Alex Jacobs facts for kids

Alex Jacobs, born in 1953, is a talented artist, poet, and radio host. He is from the Akwesasne community and is also known by his Native name, Karoniaktatie. Alex Jacobs and January Rogers formed a poetry group called Ikkwenyes. They even created a poetry CD together called Got Your Back. Alex Jacobs' art has been shown in many places, including the American Indian Archaeological Institute.

Alex Jacobs' Early Life and Career

Alex Jacobs went to Manitou Community College in LaMacaza, Quebec. He then earned a degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. He also studied at the Alfred College of Ceramics for a summer. Later, he graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute. There, he earned a degree in both Sculpture and Creative Writing.

Working with Native Newspapers and Radio

From 1972 to 1974, Jacobs worked as a poetry editor for the Mohawk Nation newspaper. He also worked for Akwesasne Notes, an international Native journal. He was a co-editor there from 1983 to 1986.

Jacobs helped start a community newspaper called Indian Time. He also co-founded Akwekon, a journal about Native arts. He co-edited Akwekon from 1985 to 1986.

He has worked at CKON-FM, which is Mohawk Nation Radio. His jobs there included being a DJ, a talk show host, and a news director. He also served as a program director and assistant station manager.

Teaching and Art

Alex Jacobs taught art and poetry at the Akwesasne Freedom School. He was also an artist-in-residence at the Akwesasne Museum. His art shows his thoughts about both ideal and real life. He explores what it means to be an Indigenous person. He also thinks about how Indigenous identity is created. As a Mohawk person, his land crosses the Canada and U.S. border. This makes him think about how borders can seem meaningless.

Alex Jacobs' Poetry

Alex Jacobs has published two collections of his poems. His first book, Landscape: Old and New Poems, came out in 1984. It was published by Blue Cloud Quarterly Press. His second book, Loving... in the Reagan Era, was released in the 1990s.

Themes in His Poetry

Loving... in the Reagan Era is inspired by the Beat Generation. It shares his personal stories and looks at society during the 1980s. In this book, Jacobs wrote about his work at a power plant. He also wrote about his children and Indigenous people. He discussed Ronald Reagan's policies and the truth about the American Dream. The book shares his personal experiences and offers a critique of culture.

Tribal Dada Performances

In 1979, Jacobs did his first performance with an art group called Tribal Dada. This group included other artists from Santa Fe. They performed at the Kansas City Art Institute. The group wanted to create a new art movement in Santa Fe. Tribal Dada also performed again in 1992. Through their performances, they tried to share what Jacobs calls "Indian thinking." This means sharing Indigenous ideas and ways of thinking.

Alex Jacobs' Visual Art

Todd Moe has compared Jacobs' art to decoupage. Jacobs uses fabric scraps from his mother and grandmother. Both of them were quilt makers. He cuts these fabrics, then glues and varnishes them together. This creates a type of collage artwork.

In his early art, Jacobs also used other materials. He used his mother's calico scraps, cigarette packaging, and butter wrappers. He created mixed media collages that were portraits of Native peoples. He did this to challenge common pop culture images and stereotypes.