OFN welcomes Deana Dartt, PhD (Coastal Chumash and Mestiza), and Founding Director of Live Oak Consulting as OFN’s Campus Affiliate. Descending from the indigenous people of the Californias, Dartt’s scholarly and professional work strive to address the incongruities between public understanding, representation and true acknowledgement of Native peoples, their cultures, histories and contemporary lives.
She earned her MA and PhD from the University of Oregon (welcome back, quack!) and has held curatorial positions at the Burke Museum of Natural and Cultural History and the Portland Art Museum as well as teaching appointments at the University of Oregon, University of Washington, and Northwest Indian College. She recently completed a writing fellowship at the School for Advanced Research where she revised her book manuscript for publication titled, Subverting the Master Narrative: Museums, Power and Native Life in California. Dartt’s courtesy position at OFN allows us to reciprocate the invaluable consulting time and expertise she has donated over the past several years to operationalize our First People: First Priorities initiative. Through her guidance, OFN is developing proposals to fund not only the traditional arts of Oregon’s Indigenous people, but the critical Native ecological knowledge and stewardship essential for these traditions to thrive.
Are you related to Wilmer and Rose Dartt from Northern California. Her maiden name was Martin. Her mother Delphia (Flower) (Benson) married names, was Assiniboine Sioux from. Montana. Tracing the family tree back to the earliest relative, Louis Hebert of Montreal, a trapper, we were told. Her daughter, Annie Benson Martin was my husband’s paternal grandmother.
Hi Anne. I’ll forward your question to Deana directly. She does not monitor our blog, but I’m sure she’d interested in making a family connection, if that is the case here. Thanks for reaching out!
My name is Jose Rivera, and I grew up in the Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley, so I know the history. For years I have worked with a California Indian artist, Robert Freeman (http://www.robertfreemanartist.com/the-artist.html), to get an exhibit on this little-known aspect of cowboy history, the Mission Indian vaqueros as the roots of an American Icon – the cowboy. The subject matter is especially relevant to the Chumash due to the mission, the cattle history, and especially Fernando Librado. I am sending you a paper I wrote several years ago, and once I put together an audio/visual presentation on the subject for a conference in Arizona. Take a look at the paper and tell me if you would be interested in working with me, to find a museum who would be interested in developing an exhibit “Mission Indian Vaqueros: Roots of an American Icon.” I hope to hear from you.
Much Gracias, Jose Rivera
Thank you for your interest and reaching out to share cultural knowledge with us, Jose. OFN’s mission is specific to Oregon’s cultural history, but Deana’s work is not that limited. I will send your comments to her directly. Thank you for enriching our understanding of our shared cultural heritage!