Wasco Nights
by Susana Santos (1954-2006), Yakama Nation
serigraph, edition 58/100
13" high x 20.5" wide
***This piece is currently framed in a thin profile black wood frame.
Wasco Nights depicts three Wasco women in full regalia, their beautiful silver braids swaying, as they dance and sing by the light of the moon. All three women are wearing their cornhusk hats, beaded yokes, and carrying feather dance fans. The Wasco are from the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, traditionally living on the south bank near The Dalles.
Apolonia Susana Santos’ paintings and serigraphs contain the dramatic and diverse landscape and sky of the High Desert. The elements of wind and water appear with vigor. Her artistic interpretation of Salmon, Coyote, Sun, and Moon express how strongly she was connected to her homelands. The contemporary interpretation of Native Peoples in traditional regalia preserves Indigenous ways and memory.
Susana shared her skills and talents with others, especially the youth. She assisted directly in the transformation of many lives through artistic expression, cultural teaching, and by sharing valuable information she learned along her path about caring for our Mother Earth.
A member of the Tygh Band and Yakama Nation, her ancestral homelands are located along the Des Chutes River at Tlxni (Falls of a Woman’s Hair) also called Shearers Bridge. She held great pride in her Traditional fishing family and encouraged all who fished to respect the River and the Salmon. She was an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Susana’s untimely passing at age 52 from ovarian cancer, left a great void in the world of Native American Art. Though small in stature, she stood large in life as she painted, sculpted and created strategies toward social change. She fought diligently to protect traditional fishing and sovereignty rights of her People.
