Charlene Teters

Charlene Teters is a Spokane Nation artist, educator and activist whose work blends conceptual installation art with anti-racist advocacy. Early in her career as a Universally of Illinois graduate student, Teters led campus protest against the University’s use of the “Chief Illiniwek” mascot, actions that drew national attention and became the subject of Jay Rosenstein’s documentary In Whose Honor? (1997) Her art installations and paintings explicitly critique harmful Native stereotypes – for example, It Was Only an Indian (1994) juxtaposed Native family portraits, flashing neon slurs, and tourist trinkets to dramatize how racism is normalized.  

Overall, her major works include from the early 1990s through the 2020s. These works employ feminist collage techniques, archive photographs, and everyday objects to demand “the presents and agency of Native Americans as contemporary and multi-dimensional people”. The “Way of Sorrows” installation (2020) Teters wrapped in emergency blankets at IAIA Museum (MoCNA). This installation addresses forced migrations and border crises, creating “new myths”. The piece’s interactive elements invite dialogue about refugees and environmental collapse.  

Teters contributions have been recognized by art and advocacy organizations including the New Mexico’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts (2002), the Women’s Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award (2017). Her academic honors include an honorary doctorates from Mitchell College 2000, and IAIA in 2021. Her work is held in public collections including the Museum of Contemporary Native Art, and New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts and private collections.