the work in more abstract where it’s distilled down.”

Deal, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, who moved to the area seven years ago from Washington, D.C., with his wife and five children, sees hope for the representation of Native peoples in the culture. He cites the TV shows “Reservation Dogs” and “Rutherford Falls,” as well as the new Hulu movie “Prey.” Native people make up the entire casts, he said, and the shows also are informed by Native people.

“It’s progressing, as representation goes up,” Deal said. “But most Americans lack the proper context of understanding the historical, social and poetic ramifications of Native people.”

He believes most people only know of Indigenous peoples’ existence through what they’ve been told by the culture. Stereotypes in popular media have propagated a lot of misconceptions about how they look and talk, such as having certain facial features or skin colors.

“Our existence lives within the bounds of the perception of our existence and not the reality of our existence,” Deal said. “Telling our own stories is happening, but it’s still pretty new.”

He seeks to make work that doesn’t adhere to the stereotypes. In one such piece in the show — the 25-foot-long and 8-foot-tall “Never Forget” — Deal uses abstract and basket patterns, but also includes images of things that have existed within the U.S., such as the Boy Scouts of America, that have evolved to represent Native people but also misrepresent them.

“Perhaps known, or unbeknownst to many Native tribes and communities, the Boy Scouts of America directions

What: “Esoo Tubewade Nummetu (This Land is Ours),” works by Gregg Deal

When: Runs through Dec. 11

Where: Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery, Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave., Colorado Springs Price: Free; 719-255-3504, gocadigital.org/exhibitions/greggdeal

Something else: Take Back the Power concert with Marcelina Ramirez, Dead Pioneers and

Algiers, 5:30-8 p.m. Sept. 23, downtown Colorado Springs at the corner of Pikes Peak Avenue and Tejon Street, free; Visiting Artists & Critics Lecture with Gregg Deal, 6-7 p.m. Oct. 11, Chapman Recital Hall, Ent Center for the Arts, Colorado Springs, free

have been using an extensive amount of Native- themed adornments, Native- inspired regalia, and even fullfledged headdress in Boy Scout ceremonies, gatherings, and outings since the early 1900s,” reported ICT in 2019. The independent, nonprofit news enterprise serves Indigenous communities.

The core message of the exhibit can be found in its title, which makes reference to the fact Indigenous people are not immigrants in this country, said McGowan.

“We’re the immigrants here,” she said. “In the U.S. culture we want to look at the history of Natives in museums or history books — in the past tense. It’s important to honor and recognize artists making work now; otherwise we’re relegating Native American tradition to the history bin, which is putting it in a coffin.”