Skating on Native Land

Desert Rider Exhibition Guide

Skateboarding is intimately connected to and in conversation with the land. Skaters not only use paved skateparks, they also construct their own environments, activating and transforming unused and abandoned areas around town. Like lowriding, it is more than an activity—it’s a way of life. Nonconformity, self-made community, and a do-it-yourself attitude are some values associated with the sport.

The statement “skating on Native land” foregrounds the history of Native American communities for skaters and viewers. The artists in this section use skateboards as moving canvases to reassert the sovereignty of motion and Native American cultures as dynamic and contemporary.

30 skateboard decks are hung on a wall in a 10 by 3 grid. Each deck is white with an stylized skull wearing a headband in the center of them just above an image of a vintage photo of indigenous americans sitting in a row. The words, you're skating on native land, appear at the top and bottom of each deck and in large print on the wall above them.

Courtesy of the artist © Douglas Miles. Photo © Denver Art Museum

Douglas Miles
San Carlos Apache-Akimel O’odham, born 1963 in Phoenix, lives and works in San Carlos Apache Reservation
You’re Skating on Native Land
2022
Apache skateboards and vinyl
Courtesy of the artist © Douglas Miles. Photo © Denver Art Museum

Douglas Miles founded Apache Skateboards in 2002, aligning the values of the skateboarding community with the tradition of the Apache warrior, as a model for his son and other young people. His work speaks to contemporary ideas around cultural resistance while celebrating Apache youth culture today. His images present triumph not tragedy.

Thumbnail from video. Five young Apache men dressed as Apache scouts hold black skateboards with yellow and white designs on the back of their boards. They stand in a field with tall yellow grass at the base of rolling hills.

Collection of the artist © Dustinn Craig

Dustinn Craig
White Mountain Apache/Navajo, lives and works in Fort Apache, AZ
4wheelwarpony
2008
Video with sound
Duration: 8 min. 11 sec.
Collection of the artist © Dustinn Craig

This video juxtaposes historical images of the Apache wars from the 1800s with contemporary skateboarders of the White River Apache reservation. Boys dressed as Apache scouts skate across the distinctively western landscape. The support systems provided by the Apache scouts in the past were as vital as the skateboarding communities are today to young Apache men, who often face devastating obstacles.

Desert Rider: Dreaming in Motion is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is presented with generous support from the Adolph Coors Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Christensen Fund, U.S. Bank, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.