Welcome to the exhibition ‘Resistance and Resilience’ by two contemporary Indigenous artists: Tomas Colbengtson and Antonie Frank Grahamsdaughter

The legacy of colonialism remains evident in former colonies and continues to manifest globally in the form of settler colonialism. Compounding this issue are the global climate crisis and the unequal distribution of wealth engendered by the relentless expansion of capitalism, as well as imperialist wars such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's genocide of the Palestinians. These issues leave many people feeling powerless. Furthermore, in the Ryukyu Islands, local people have been silenced by a combination of Japanese settler colonialism and US militarism.

Marginalised by the invasions and domination of modern nation states, Indigenous peoples have endured harsh assimilation policies while resisting non-violently and surviving. They have demonstrated resilience by reviving their languages and culture, as well as by creating contemporary art that reflects their collective memory of the trauma and stigma caused by settler colonialism. This art draws on their historical and cultural bonds as a people. When hope seems elusive, we believe that we should learn from the resistance and resilience of Indigenous peoples, joining their fight for decolonisation to preserve hope for the future. It is this conviction that has led us to organise this exhibition.

Tomas Colbengtson, who belongs to the Sámi people of Scandinavia, and Antonie Frank Grahamsdaughter, who is descended from Canada’s First Nations peoples, have created numerous works confronting the discrimination and oppression of Indigenous peoples caused by colonialism. Through contemporary art, they reveal and bring to life histories and cultures as seen from Indigenous perspectives — stories not reflected in state-centred histories found in textbooks. Colbengtson engraves photographs of ancestors onto glass and metal, while Grahamsdaughter uses video art to give a voice to her ancestors, creating a dialogue between the living and the dead, and connecting the past with the future in order to pass cultural memory on to future generations. Together, their work establishes an Indigenous identity that is not depicted in official national histories, acting as a beacon that illuminates the obscured darkness of history.

This joint exhibition, which will take place from 17 September to 6 October 2025, is the first of its kind in Okinawa and Japan. By presenting rarely seen contemporary Indigenous art from Scandinavia and Canada, the exhibition aims to offer visitors a decolonial perspective on Okinawa.

Centre for Environmental and Minority Policy Studies (CEMiPoS)
Sakima Art Museum