Julie Buffalohead facts for kids
Julie Buffalohead (born 1974) is a modern Native American artist from the United States. She is a member of the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Her art often explores important topics like fairness for all people, the rights of Native Americans, and how power can be misused. She creates paintings that tell stories using animal characters who act like humans. These characters help her mix old myths with everyday life, and imagination with reality. Her art invites viewers to connect with their own experiences.
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Growing Up and Learning
Julie Buffalohead was born in Minnesota in 1974. She grew up in a family where both her parents were college professors. Her father, Roger Buffalohead, was one of the first professors to teach about American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota.
Julie's father was Native American, and her mother was white. She explores her mixed heritage in her artwork. She earned her first art degree, a Bachelor of Fine Arts, in 1995 from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Later, she received her Master of Fine Arts from Cornell University in 2001.
While studying, Julie worked with elementary school students. This experience changed how she thought about her Native heritage. It inspired her to create art about Indigenous history. Today, she lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Art Style and Inspirations
Julie Buffalohead's art focuses on the experiences and stories of Indigenous people. She often changes common images of Native Americans found in popular culture, like those in Disney's Pocahontas. She uses symbols and story-like pictures to talk about social issues, including gun violence.
Her artwork might include playful images, such as tea parties or cartoon characters. However, Buffalohead says her art is meant to make people think deeply. She often uses animals that act like humans, especially coyotes, in her pieces. Julie Buffalohead is a mixed media artist. This means she uses many different materials, like oil paints and printmaking. She also includes natural items like birch bark and porcupine quills in her art.
Art Shows and Exhibitions
Julie Buffalohead's work has been shown in many art galleries and museums.
Solo Exhibitions
These are shows where only her art was displayed:
- 2000 - Offerings From the Heart at Carl N. Gorman Museum in Davis, CA.
- 2012 - Julie Buffalohead, Let the Show Begin at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in New York, NY.
- 2014-2015 - Julie Buffalohead: Coyote Dreams at the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul, MN.
- 2018-2019 - Eyes On: Julie Buffalohead at the Denver Art Museum in Denver, CO.
- 2019 - Storytelling: Julie Buffalohead, Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN.
- 2022 - Noble Coyotes, Jessica Silverman, San Francisco, CA.
Group Exhibitions
These are shows where her art was displayed alongside other artists' work:
- 2019 - Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists at Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, MN.
- 2020 - Indelible Ink: Native Women, Printmaking, Collaboration at the University of New Mexico Art Museum in Albuquerque, NM.
Awards and Recognition
Julie Buffalohead has received several important awards for her art. These include the McKnight Foundation Fellowship for Visual Arts and a Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant. She also received an award from the Minnesota State Arts Board for Visual Artists.
Where Her Art Is Kept
Her artwork is part of the permanent collections at several museums. These include the Walker Art Museum and the Muscarelle Museum of Art.
