explore | Grilled Cheese

@mdstamper.bsky.social Oct 17, 2026, 1:19 PM

“Kay-a-gís-gis, a Young Woman” by George Catlin (American) – Oil on canvas / 1832 – Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C.) #WomenInArt #Smithsonian #Catlin #GeorgeCatlin #SAAM #art #artText #arte #SmithsonianAmericanArtMuseum #IndigenousWomen #PortraitofaWoman #AmericanArt #1830sArt

Kay-a-gís-gis meets us with a direct and animated presence as her long black hair falls over both shoulders, while one hand rises to loosen a section near her warm brown-toned face highlighted with reddish-copper tones. Layered blue and white necklaces cross her chest, and her light-colored clothing is enriched with colorful circular and star-like designs. Most striking is her engaging toothy smile as her soft eyes look directly outward toward the painter … and, through him … toward us today.

American artist George Catlin described Kay-a-gís-gis as a young woman “pulling her hair out of braid.” The Smithsonian identifies her as Ojibwa, a historical spelling for the people now commonly called Ojibwe or Anishinaabe. Catlin painted Kay-a-gís-gis at Fort Union near the junction of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. Fort Union was an American Fur Company trading post where Native nations, traders, and travelers came into sustained contact.

The portrait belongs to the enormous body of paintings Catlin called his “Indian Gallery,” with hundreds of portraits, landscapes, and scenes of Native life. Catlin believed he was preserving the appearances and cultures of Native peoples at a moment of rapid change, but he worked within the expansionist world of 19th-century America that was violently reshaping Indigenous life. His paintings were made for non-Native audiences so the names, descriptions, and categories often reflect what Catlin recorded rather than how people might have described themselves.

The Smithsonian notes that this was among Catlin’s early attempts to capture facial expression. Her smile may be evidence of her personality, but it may also just be a momentary exchange Catlin preserved. Either way, Kay-a-gís-gis looking back, adjusting her long dark hair, and occupying the center of the canvas is undeniably an unforgettable indigenous woman whose presence still reaches across nearly two centuries.

@mdstamper.bsky.social Oct 16, 2026, 6:19 AM

“Portrait of Caubvick, an Inuit Woman from Labrador” by Unknown artist – Oil on canvas / c. 1772 – Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons of England (London, UK) #WomenInArt #Inuk #HunterianMuseum #art #artText #arte #InuitWomen #LabradorInuit #IndigenousWomen #portraitofawoman #1770sArt

A young Inuk woman stands half-length against a muted landscape as she e turns to our left, looking beyond the picture, while her forearms cross calmly in front of her. Her warm brown garment has broad sleeves and substantial fur around the shoulders, and long strands of tiny beads descend on either side of her face. Her dark hair is drawn back beneath a beige band. Faint lines running from her lower lip across her chin depict facial tattooing. The unidentified artist models her face softly, with flushed cheeks and soft eyes, while subdued greens, browns, and blue-gray sky suggest a northern landscape beyond her.

Caubvick was a Labrador Inuk who traveled to England in 1772 with English trader George Cartwright. She was accompanied by her husband Tooklavinia, his brother Attuiock, Attuiock’s wife Ickongoque, and their young daughter Ickeuna. The five became objects of considerable curiosity in Britain’s social and scientific circles. Both Caubvick and Attuiock sat for full-length portraits by Nathaniel Dance in 1773. Four members of the group died after contracting smallpox, but Caubvick returned to Labrador, although the surviving historical record leaves her eventual fate uncertain.

Even the actual identification of the woman in this painting has a complicated history. The Hunterian now titles her Caubvick, but the portrait has previously been identified as other Labrador Inuit women, including Mikak and Ickongoque. Recent scholarship still describes the attribution as uncertain rather than settled. That distinction matters as the painting preserves an individual presence, but much of the documentation surrounding her was created by Europeans who classified, collected, and renamed Indigenous people within their own systems.

What remains striking is the specificity of the woman herself. Her hairstyle, beadwork, clothing, tattooing, folded arms, and distant gaze give the 1772 portrait a presence that exceeds its history as an ethnographic curiosity.

@culturalsurvival.org Oct 14, 2026, 10:03 PM

Cultural Survival congratulates our Board Member, Mrinalini Rai (Rai), founder of Women4Biodiversity, on receiving the Environmental Pioneer Award at #WomenOfTheYear. 🌿

#IndigenousWomen don’t just protect biodiversity. They lead it.

@bigearthdata.ai Oct 13, 2026, 1:18 PM

Indigenous women challenge Islamist oppression, call for cross-community solidarity
->The Jerusalem Post | More on "Indigenous women challenging Islamist oppression" at BigEarthData.ai | #IndigenousWomen

@bigearthdata.ai Oct 12, 2026, 5:04 PM

Indigenous women bring leadership, creativity & joy to clean water action (commentary)
->Mongabay | More on "Indigenous women water leadership" at BigEarthData.ai | #CleanWater #IndigenousWomen

@unwashedrepublic3.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 4:55 PM

#IndigenousWomen

@bigearthdata.ai Oct 9, 2026, 11:54 PM

Supreme Court decision balances Gladue factors against concern for Indigenous women
->APTN | More on "Indigenous justice and sentencing reform" at BigEarthData.ai | #IndigenousWomen

@downiewenjack.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 8:00 AM

According to the Assembly of First Nations, as of June 2026, a record 165 women are were serving their communities as chiefs throughout Canada. This Women’s History Month, read their stories through CBC Indigenous: https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/9.7117868

#IndigenousLeadership #IndigenousWomen

@killbaitcanada.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 1:29 AM

Parole Board Revokes Statutory Release for Shawn Lamb, Convicted Killer of Three Indigenous Women

🤖 IA: It's not clickbait ✅
👥 Users: It's not clickbait ✅

#parole #statutoryrelease #indigenouswomen

👇👇👇

@bigearthdata.ai Sep 30, 2026, 11:26 PM

Global Indigenous Women Led Movements For Climate Justice
->Bioneers | More on "Indigenous women climate justice movements" at BigEarthData.ai | #IndigenousWomen #ClimateJustice

@kpateonthehill.bsky.social Sep 26, 2026, 2:12 PM

#WrongfulConvictions #IndigenousJustice #JusticeReform #CriminalJusticeReform #SystemicRacism #IndigenousWomen #AccessToJustice #InnocenceCanada 10/10

@thenotsocommongal.com Sep 25, 2026, 8:01 PM

#NativeAmericanDay #574Nations #IndigenousWomen #TheNotSoCommonGal #HonorNativeLand #CommunityFirst #IndigenousCulture #WomensLifestyle #TNSCG #CelebrateCommunity #NativePride

@davidnberger.bsky.social Sep 25, 2026, 8:00 AM

Gheba Karen women select, dry and store inherited seeds for the next planting season. Explore their role in agricultural diversity in Myanmar in Debates Indígenas. Read in Spanish. #IndigenousWomen https://bit.ly/4A9gpHU

@bigearthdata.ai Sep 22, 2026, 10:42 PM

Governments across Australia know how to stop violence against Indigenous women, they just don't do it
->The Conversation | More on "Indigenous women violence prevention Australia" at BigEarthData.ai | #IndigenousWomen

@doctora-nature.bsky.social Sep 22, 2026, 4:02 PM

Diversity means valuing different voices, not expecting everyone to communicate in the same way.

#FreshBananaleaves #growingpapayatrees #indigenousscience #earthdaughters #indigenouswomen

@doctora-nature.bsky.social Sep 21, 2026, 8:02 PM

Bias asks, "What's wrong with her?" Equity asks, "What assumptions am I making?"

#FreshBananaleaves #growingpapayatrees #indigenousscience #earthdaughters #indigenouswomen

@davidnberger.bsky.social Sep 21, 2026, 8:00 AM

Indigenous women in Bengkulu preserve local rice seeds and practise crop rotation. Pramasti Ayu Kusdinar highlights their conservation work and role in territorial decisions. Read in Spanish. #IndigenousWomen https://bit.ly/4zYmU05

@doctora-nature.bsky.social Sep 19, 2026, 3:02 PM

The problem is not that women of color take up space. The problem is that society is still uncomfortable seeing them lead.

#FreshBananaleaves #growingpapayatrees #indigenousscience #earthdaughters #indigenouswomen