At the Center of the Controversy: Confronting Ethnic Fraud in the Arts

Abstract

The large-scale retrospective exhibition Jimmie Durham: At the Center of the World (re)introduced self-identified “Cherokee” artist Jimmie Durham to a mainstream audience. Despite efforts in the 1990s to unmask the impostor, who has no known or recognized tribal affiliation, once again Durham was occupying space as a Native artist in the art world. This article addresses larger issues that face the field of Native art and Native representation in museums as a whole, offering personal reflections and a brief review of the exhibition as well as a biographical overview of the artist.