Robert Franklin

Yá'át'ééh. Had a really good conversation with artist, printmaker, and pal, Kanani Miyamoto ( @mamakanani ) at their studio in Portland, OR. Watch the full conversation/video at the link in bio. From the yəhaw̓ ( @yehawshow ) website: “Kanani Miyamoto is a passionate printmaker. Her training in printmaking is rooted in tradition, but Miyamoto pushes the standards of printmaking in the form of large scale mixed media original prints, and installation. Miyamoto’s work is created with many different techniques. She combines copper plate etchings with screen prints, and wood block prints to create rich and unique installations.” -------- I’m very humbled and thankful for Kanani letting me hang out at their studio. It was a cool day to document (photo/video/audio) someone in their creative space, working on a project that they are passionate about. GO WATCH/READ/LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION.

Commission Installation at Portland State University's Vernier Science Center by Lehuauakea ( @lehuauakea ). From Lehuauakea: "...my experience with the commission -- it was a huge thing for me cause it was my first public art commission and first six figure gig. So a little nerve wracking cause I wanted to deliver something good, and it had to be soooo big. I knew my community also needed to feel represented in the work, so that was also a big factor. But I think overall I'm really happy with how it turned out and learned a lot in the process! The good connections i've made doing my work have brought so much meaning and depth to my practice and life as a whole ❤” See Lehuauakea's IG for more info. ---- So much energy goes into the creative journey, I feel humble and grateful for being allowed to document and share with you all. My first 5 years in Portland I worked as the Manager of PSU's Native American Student and Community Center. I'll never forget the student journeys. We were also reminded how much these communities (academia) were not, initially, meant for us. So finding areas that have your community reflected is huge. Representation is a great big first step. I'm very excited for the Vernier Science Center. I'm a huge fan of Team Lehuauakea. So getting a front row seat to Lehua and Ian working together on this install turned into a big 'ol inspiring day of fun. NGL, the future will see more creative efforts on my end thanks to seeing them doing their cool things and the cool conversations we've had. Mahalo / Ahéhee'

Some B-Sides from the earlier post. I love me some B-Sides. I enjoy people-watching on colonizer holidays. It's so interesting to me. To celebrate themselves with capitalism... but omit the genocide... their theft of land and culture... I mean... The history is all there, they just choose to not acknowledge it. I guess privilege be like that most times. The privilege to absolve themselves. Then there are those of us who are the product of their assimilation... Their "melting pot", forced into a weird kind of embrace... We still have our stories, our culture, our history, our world view, it's all there... Just not empowered to use it or learn how to remember it. Is it a good thing that our mere existence is resistance? Is that a healthy way to live? as an embodied middle finger? When sometimes we just want to watch some fireworks? I guess these static filled experiences are how we continue to survive survival(?) So very interesting. #diné #navajo #july4th #pdx #portland #photgraphy #sony #a7r3 #hashtag

Dang. I graduated college in 2017. I look at this degree and I see blood, sweat, and tears. And student loan debt, haha! I think about going for my masters... or turning my advertising minor into a major. I wanted to learn so much, my electives were all documentary, journalism, marketing, and strat comm... It’s dumb how much money dictates your ability to learn. After college I worked at a university. Managed students, first gen students navigating housing, food, jobs, classes. I knew some houseless students... When I went to NAU, I was an older student. Both my parents are grads. I worked full time, then dropped to part time just to focus on school. Anyway. These are the things I think about at 3am.

I'm so unbelievably proud of this night. In all honesty this night was a direct response to how poorly "Portland" handles relationships with the Native peoples and Tribes in the region. It was a response to land acknowledgements. It was a response to "we are still here" messaging. It was a response to colonial gatekeeping standards. It was a response to how Native storytelling sometimes gets filtered down to flutes, feathers, vanishing peoples and/or culture co-opting. It was a response to governmental treaty failure/termination/land theft. It was a direct effort to breaking the disappearing/romanticized/tiki tourist/papyrus/ed curtis education. All I can say is Ahéhee' EVERYONE! I'm so happy there was a night we all had to share perspectives. I'm a fan of what you do and I'll continue to support whenever and wherever I can. THE LIVESTREAM RECORDING (VOD) IS ON PICA'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL!!!! GO WATCH IT!!! COMMENT! LIKE!!! DO ALL THE THINGS! -- LINK IS IN THE BIO -- Also big fan of the Livestream. If you were in the audience and the camera got in your way .. in the kindest way possible.. I'm not sorry. The camera represented our families, friends, and community members watching from home, from the Rez, from the other side of the nation. The amount of messages I received from folks not in Portland... I'm so happy you all could watch! These stories, perspectives, conversations are meant for EVERYONE. Who knows. Maybe we do it again? Native peoples are active participants of today. They are the future. Treat them accordingly. Big ups to PICA!!! Ed Bourgeois!!! Warm Springs!!! Grand Ronde!! Siletz!!! The caterers!!!! Big special shoutout to PICA's Tech Team!!!! And EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT TO SUPPORT IN-PERSON!!! All photos by @naswood.photography Ok. Now I gotta tag everyone. :) @thecarlarossi @davidthaor503 @brutis_baez @amberkball @laronimo @trevinobringsplenty @sho.rilla @kiahnae23 @naswood.photography @tsohtso @sokehstudio @artnerdforever @outeroutlet @wo___od @portlandallnationscanoefamily @mamakanani @leland_butler1 @yourfriendathena @cedarbarksavage @your.friendly.nerd @picapdx @posteventpros @erinboberg

Sunday, Sept. 7th, 2025 @ PICA TBA Festival In what we now call "Portland, Oregon" The Untitled Native Project — Live at PICA hosted by Anthony Hudson is a night in three parts: history, storytelling, and conversations. Part one features Oregon and Portland history from David Harrelson and Anthony Hudson. Part two puts a spotlight on Native artists living, working, creating in the Pacific Northwest, with perspectives from Brutis Baez, Amber Kay Ball, Leland Butler, Olivia Camfield, Anthony Hudson, Woodrow Hunt, LaRonn Katchia, Steph Littlebird, and Kanani Miyamoto. Part three concludes the evening with a conversation with Trevino Brings Plenty and the artists about their perspectives and the future of Native arts and cultures. THIS WILL ALSO BE LIVESTREAMED (IRL Style) on PICA's YouTube Channel FOR FREE. So grab a bevvy, some snacks and tune in for some perspectives and conversations. I mean, also feel free to buy tickets still. Haha! Indigenous fam attending in-person use CODE: KINSHIP25 for free tickets. WAS JUST INFORMED THAT WE SOLD OUT. SO... WATCH THE LIVESTREAM, THESE PERSPECTIVES AND CONVERSATIONS ARE MEANT TO BE AVAILABLE TO ALL. !!!!!ANOTHER UPDATE!!!!! MORE TICKETS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR!!!!!!! WOOOO!!!!!! ---- It truly has been a fun time working with everyone! I've accepted the title "Producer/Curator" and "Camera Person" for this amazing event. This is really just a bunch of pals doing something fun together. Hats off to @picapdx (Erin, Molly, Alan, Elio, Emily) for removing any and all roadblocks and being so supportive every step of the way. *We stacked as many Native creatives on both sides of the event! Original font by @sokehstudio and original theme music by @tsohtso and additional camera folks from Warm Springs (@kiahnae23 and @sho.rilla ) and BTS documentation by @naswood.photography ---- @brutis_baez @amberkball @yourfriendathena @cedarbarksavage @your.friendly.nerd @trevinobringsplenty @leland_butler1 @outeroutlet @davidthaor503 @thecarlarossi @wo___od @laronimo @artnerdforever @mamakanani

Happy Mother's Day, MOM!

物の哀れ

Proof of life, Dec. 13th, 2024. Chachalu Museum. Transgressors opening. Ahéhee' Image courtesy of Evan Benally Atwood ( @evanbenallyatwood )

"29, For Which it Stands", 2024 Duhon James ( @yiiyah_man ) Ahéhee'

I went diggin' through the archives and found this! Looking back I truly appreciate the time I spent with friends and I'm so thankful that they saw whatever skills I had as something they wanted to bring along for the ride. Damn, these were fun times. Touring, shows, recording, lots of dive bars, creative ideas, people, and that damn Arizona heat! I'm glad I was able to share the time we had together, everything that I do now has a little bit of these stories baked in. Ahéhee'/Gracias Shout out to the homies! @brygenevaz and @cavartworks - Vagabond Gods @_alex_d_b - Mesa Tracks Recording Damn. 720p. 24 fps. .mpeg files. Those were the days.

Episode two is out! In this episode we talk about on screen representation a little bit. Follow link in bio. #papyrus