Societal expectations for Indigenous dress, especially pan-Native stereotypes, have also been a major influence on Monkman’s practice. ‘Earlier in his career, he leaned into camp and humor to intentionally make very challenging subject matters more approachable,’ explains Lukavic. Objects poked at appropriation of Native symbols and clichés: for example, a Louis Vuitton quiver, dreamcatcher bra, and raccoon jockstrap. ‘I claim some of these tropes to comment on their meaninglessness as mass-produced tourist gifts or novelty items that simply have no significance as Indigenous cultural objects,’ says Monkman. ‘One cannot reclaim something that is already completely fake. Reducing Indigenous people to cartoon characters removes any nuance or cultural difference amongst the hundreds of varied and complex communities and linguistic groups throughout the Americas,’ he adds.

Over the last decade, Lukavic tells me, Monkman’s work has put humor aside in favor of ‘a very direct confrontation and engagement with subjects that are important to contemporary Indigenous people,’ such as generational trauma, urbanization, language loss, and LGBTQ+ representation. ‘At the same time, he’s intentionally “decolonizing sexuality,” as he describes it. It’s about showing the nude human form as normal – not something that has to be sexualized – as well as showing different body types and gender expressions as normal, to counter the imposed, puritanical Christian viewpoints that were never what most Indigenous communities believed.’

Occasionally, Monkman’s alter-ego, Miss Chief, makes an appearance on canvas. In the early 2000s, the artist conceived this time-traveling, shape-shifting performance persona to reflect the Indigenous ‘two-spirit’ tradition, which reveres a third gender and nonbinary sexuality, subverting colonial constructions of masculinity. Feathered headdresses, thigh-high boots, satin gloves, and sequined gowns typically comprise Miss Chief’s attire, though one of her most memorable ensembles is a dress resembling a tipi.