You’ve seen the photos. Maybe it was at the Met, or maybe you were just scrolling through a museum's digital archive and stopped dead because a face was staring back at you, covered in red ink scribbles. That’s probably the first time most people encounter wendy red star art, and honestly, it’s a bit of a shock.
It’s supposed to be.
Wendy Red Star isn’t just making "pretty" pictures of her Apsáalooke (Crow) heritage. She’s basically a historical detective with a neon highlighter and a really sharp sense of humor. Born in 1981 in Billings, Montana, and raised on the Crow reservation, Red Star has spent the last two decades dismantling the "stagnant Indian" myth that history books love so much.
The 1880 Delegation and the Red Pen
Take her most famous series, the 1880 Crow Peace Delegation. You might recognize the original black-and-white portraits of Crow leaders like Medicine Crow. For over a century, these photos were used as "anonymous" decorative pieces to sell tea or cologne. Red Star wasn't having it.
She took those prints and started writing all over them.
Red ink everywhere.
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She points out the hair extensions made from people in mourning. She circles the ermine on their leggings, which basically screams "I’m a war leader and I’m better than you." She even adds captions like "I can kick your ass with these eyes."
It sounds funny—and it is—but it’s also a gut punch. She’s taking these men out of the "ancient artifact" category and reminding us they were actual human beings with names, political agendas, and a lot of style.
Why the Plastic Animals Matter
If you look at her Four Seasons series from 2006, things get even weirder. Red Star sits in the middle of these obviously fake, kitschy museum-style dioramas. We’re talking inflatable deer, plastic flowers, and those crinkly craft-store leaves.
She’s wearing her traditional elk-tooth dress—a real, handmade garment with massive cultural weight—while surrounded by literal trash. It’s a direct jab at natural history museums. You know the ones. They put Native American "displays" right next to the dinosaur bones and the taxidermy.
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"Basically," she seems to be saying, "if you think my culture belongs in a glass case with some fake grass, here’s what that actually looks like." It’s brilliant. It’s biting. It’s very Red Star.
The MacArthur Genius and the "Soil You See"
As of 2026, Red Star’s influence has reached a bit of a fever pitch. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in late 2024, which is the "Genius Grant" everyone talks about. But she hasn't slowed down. One of her most moving recent works is at the Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana.
It’s called The Soil You See… and it’s a massive glass and granite sculpture that looks like a giant red fingerprint. When you get close, you realize it’s inscribed with the names of 50 Apsáalooke chiefs.
These weren't just signatures. These were the men forced to use their thumbprints to sign away millions of acres of their land. By blowing that thumbprint up to a massive scale, she turns a mark of coercion into a monument of presence.
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Why You Should Actually Care
A lot of people think contemporary art is just for "art people." But wendy red star art is different because it’s deeply researched. She spends hours in the Smithsonian archives or digging through her own family’s junk drawers.
She even did a whole show about The Maniacs, her dad’s all-Crow rock band from the 1970s. They were basically the "Crow Beatles." It shows that Native life isn't just about the 1800s; it’s about rock and roll, HUD houses, and reservation cars with dented bumpers.
How to Experience This for Yourself
If you want to get into her work, don't just look at the pictures. Read the fine print.
- Check the archives. Go to the Brooklyn Museum or the Portland Art Museum’s website and zoom in on her annotations. That’s where the real magic happens.
- Follow her daughter, Beatrice. They’ve collaborated on several projects, including the Apsáalooke: Children of the Large-Beaked Bird exhibition. Seeing how the tradition passes down is half the point.
- Visit the land. If you’re ever in Montana, see The Soil You See… at Tippet Rise. Seeing her work on the actual soil she’s talking about changes how you breathe.
Honestly, the best way to understand Red Star is to stop looking for a "history lesson." She’s not teaching a class. She’s correcting the record. She’s reminding everyone that the Crow people are still here, they’re still creating, and they’ve got a better sense of irony than you do.
Start by looking at her Accession series. She photographed herself with items from the Denver Art Museum’s collection, but instead of "artifacts," she treats them like the family heirlooms they actually are. It’s a great entry point into why her perspective is so necessary right now.