His striking four-panel mural displayed at the Anasazi Heritage Center tries to set the record straight on that day, Dec. 29, 1890.
"I show it as a battle, not a massacre," he said during an art opening. "The 7th Calvary wanted to make a crisis because a gun accidentally went off."
Ashley, 20, of the Lakota Tribe, has a neurological condition that makes speech and movement difficult.
But when painting, his hand steadies, and his bold mural speaks volumes for him.
U.S. military and native warriors are shown in the heat of battle with equal standing. Animals sacred to Native Americans look on.
"The Calvary overacted, and the men women and children fought back against surrender," Ashley explained. "The piece breaks down the myth that they ran away all while getting gunned down."
Ashley's work is one of many at a new exhibit called "Ancestral Homelands: Connections to Land, Space, and Time."
The artwork was created by students and staff from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M.
"The pieces are for sale at seedling prices," said Miss Navajo Nation, McKean Dempsey, an IAIA alumni. "These artists are at the beginning of their careers."
Art is a good outlet for Native American youth, McKean said, and it needs more support from the Navajo Nation.
"IAIA opened doors for me, the artwork gives us power and a voice. It helps define who we are," she said.
Navajo artist Veneron Yazzen, 29, deploys abstract realism to show the mythology and humanism of native cultures.
"When I begin an art piece, I embrace the present, the daily life behind cultures," Yazzen said. "Then from realism I jump to mythology to give it a feeling of enrichment."
Contemporary paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and jewelry are featured at the special exhibit. The theme is how contemporary Native art is influenced by cultural ancestors and traditions.
The free exhibit is especially poignant because the area is the actual ancestral homeland for Southwest tribes.
"We are really honored to host this exhibit," said Bridget Ambler, supervisory curator for the Anasazi Heritage Center. "The Institute has produced some of our nation's most well known artists."
The original exhibit is a chance for students to curate, and provides an opportunity for the public to view modern Native American art.
"We have a tendency to think of native arts as something stuck in the past," Ambler said. "This show debunks that stereotype. The artwork is very fabulous, refreshing and unexpected."
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com
