In her talk, titled “Speaking Truth to Power: Native American Artists as Agents of Social Change,” Shanna Ketchum-Heap of Birds discussed decolonization; the writings of Jean Fisher; and the work of artists including her husband, Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds, and Jimmie Durham.
Heap of Birds is a citizen of the Diné/Navajo Nation and a PhD candidate at Middlesex University London in the School of Art and Design. Since 2007, she has been an instructor in the Native American Studies department at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, where she is affiliate faculty in the Women and Gender Studies program and the Center for Social Justice. Ketchum-Heap of Birds has lectured and written widely on contemporary issues in Native American art.