Her Activism
Apolonia Susana Santos
Inspiring Action
Apolonia Susana Santos spent 20 years of her life as a dedicated active organizer of environmental summits and cultural events. These public and intertribal events were educational and civic responses to legislation on Indigenous Peoples’ and broader civil liberties protections.
She Took a Leadership Role
Susana worked
as a Green Peace Fellow on national fisheries legislation
and as a public education campaigner.
She also co-established the Sacred Earth Coalition in the late 80’s, where her mission was to bring together Native and Non-Native activists and artists to work for the protection of the Mt Hood areas from destination resort development and the logging of Enola Hill.
Together
with the Sacred Earth Coalition in the early 90’s,
"Culture Shock Gallery" was established to
showcase the art work of Native artists, women and
other disenfranchised groups.
She Spoke Through Her Art
Susana often used her art as way to respond to a political issue, or event.
When
asked to contribute a piece of art to “Impacted Nations”
a traveling lecture, music and art show with the ”Honor
The Earth” Indigenous People’s Tour in 2004, she responded
with a mixed media on canvas titled Sentinel of the
Sacred. The
piece is now part of a permanent collection at the
Montana Museum of Art & Culture.
Here's what the artist had to say about it:
“Sentinel of the Sacred was conceived to honor a young boy that acts as a Sentinel when guarding traditional women who gather the Indigenous foods and conduct ceremonies at their sacred places.
"My intention was to draw attention to the protection of the Indigenous Woman, who may face indignities or human rights abuses from the proliferation of drug cartels present on the Native Peoples Reservations. I see this as a major threat to our Sovereign Nations.
"These social constraints limit our spiritual freedoms to seek higher vision. Perhaps, when our children stand guard over our clan families, our relationship to Mother Earth and to each other; our strength, art and cultural attributes will in time regenerate.”
A. Susana Santos
