Bunky Echo-Hawk
Bunky Echo–Hawk | |
|---|---|
| Born | Walter Roy Echo-Hawk Jr. 1975 (age 48–49) Yakama Nation Reservation, Toppenish, Washington, U.S. |
| Nationality | Yakama Nation |
| Education | Associate of Art degree, Creative Writing, Institute of American Indian Arts; Toyota Fellow, Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Naropa University |
| Known for | Acrylic painting, poetry |
| Movement | Hip hop, Native pop |
Bunky Echo–Hawk (born 1975) is a Native American artist and poet who is best known for his acrylic paintings concerning Native American topics and hip-hop culture. He works in a variety of media that include paintings, graphic design, photography, and writing.
Biography[edit]
Walter Roy "Bunky" Echo–Hawk Jr.[1] is a descendant of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, and an enrolled citizen of the Yakama Nation.[2] He attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in the 1990s. He served as the "co-founder and the Executive Director of NVision, a national Native nonprofit that focuses on Native youth development,"[3] and he is also a traditional singer and dancer.[4] In 2020, Echo-Hawk was featured in the PBS series American Masters for his work on Native rights and environmentalism.[5]
Themes and style[edit]
Scholar Olena McLaughlin, writing in the journal Transmotion, categorizes Echo-Hawk's work as follows: "Although it is within the stream of Native Pop, Echo-Hawk's work leans more towards Pop Surrealism or Lowbrow, a movement that emerged in the 1970s after Pop Art. It engages popular culture, but in a more concrete story-telling way with slightly less ambiguity."[6] In 2011 and beyond, Echo-Hawk collaborated with Nike to develop Native-inspired apparel through their N-7 and Power of Perseverance Collection.[7]
Personal life and arrest[edit]
On October 16, 2021, Echo-Hawk was injured and his 15-year-old daughter Alexie was killed in a head-on crash early morning, as they were driving to the Pawnee Nation for a ceremonial tribal dance in Oklahoma.[8]
On January 10, 2022, Bunky Echo-Hawk was arrested for "lewd or indecent acts to children under 16."[1] A young girl reported to a Pawnee County DHS worker that "she was repeatedly touched inappropriately by Echo-Hawk, 46, between 'from the time she was 7 or 8 until 11 or 12 years old'."[1] His preliminary hearing was scheduled for March 15, 2022.[1]
Public collections[edit]
Exhibitions[edit]
- "Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America," National Museum of the American Indian, 2009
- Founder's Day Performance, Live audience intervention painting, Feb. 1, 2010, Willamette University[9]
- "Bunky Echo-Hawk: Modern Warrior," Field Museum, 2013
- Shows in Minneapolis, Chicago, New York and Greensboro, NC [10]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Kunze, Jenna (7 February 2022). "Renowned Artist "Bunky" Echo-Hawk Charged in Oklahoma". Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ^ "Bunky Echo-Hawk". University of North Dakota. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ^ "Bunky Echo-Hawk". Beatnation.org. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
- ^ "Making Pathways w/Bunky Echohawk". Snag Magazine. 2011. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
- ^ "Bunky Echo-Hawk: The Resistance | American Masters | PBS". Pbs.org. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ McLaughlin, Olena (2017). "View of Native Pop: Bunky Echo-Hawk and Steven Paul Judd Subvert Star Wars". Transmotion. 3 (2): 30–52. doi:10.22024/UniKent/03/tm.223. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
- ^ "N7: The Power of Perseverance". News.nike.com. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ "Family Tries To Move Forward After Double Fatal I-70 Crash That Killed Colorado Teen Heading To Pawnee Ceremonial Dance". Denver.cbslocal.com. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ "Founder's Day Performance". Willamette University. 2010-01-19. Archived from the original on 2013-05-25. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
- ^ "Bunky Echo-Hawk". Beatnation.org. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
External links[edit]
- bunkyechohawk.com, official website
- Oral History Interview with Bunky Echo-Hawk
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1975 births
- Living people
- 20th-century Native American artists
- 21st-century Native American artists
- Institute of American Indian Arts alumni
- Naropa University alumni
- Native American painters
- American people of Pawnee descent
- Yakama people
- 20th-century American painters
- 21st-century American painters
- 20th-century American male artists
- 21st-century American male artists
- People from Toppenish, Washington
- Painters from Washington (state)
- 21st-century Native American writers