Maps, Memory, and Mischief: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s Art Redraws the American Story

When Jaune Quick-to-See Smith painted maps, she didn’t just chart geography—she rewrote the very idea of America. Born on Montana’s Flathead Reservation, Smith’s canvases bristle with symbols, satire, and a pointed reimagining of U.S. history through Indigenous eyes. Her art doesn’t just critique the erasure of Native stories; it overlays them back onto the land, making lost histories visible and urgent. Smith’s journey was anything but linear: she paused her formal training for decades to support her family, then returned to art with renewed purpose. Her works—now celebrated in London, Edinburgh, and beyond—blend abstraction with activism, challenging viewers to see the familiar anew. From co-founding the Grey Canyon Group to breaking barriers at the National Gallery of Art, Smith’s legacy is a living map of resistance and renewal. Her vision continues to ripple outward, proving that the boundaries of art—and history—are always up for redrawing. #IndigenousArt #JauneQuickToSeeSmith #ContemporaryArt #Culture