YOSHUA OKÓN

The Indian Project: Rebuilding History was shot in Skowhegan, a small town located in the state of Maine, USA. The original town's name was Milburn, but in the 19th century it was changed to what it was considered to be its former Abenaki, Native American name. New England, the region in which Skowhegan is located, was the site of some of the worse Native American genocides in the continent and the town has no remaining Native American population or cultural influence. During the 1960's, the town's Chamber of Commerce decided to erect an 80 feet tall Native American wooden sculpture, which they refer to as "The tallest Indian in the World". In the summer of 2014, the Chamber of Commerce was conducting a restoration of the sculpture. Taking advantage of this occasion, Okón invited the members of the committee in charge of the restoration to conduct a program/performance at their local TV station. The committee members were asked to talk about the history of the statute, about the town's adoption of a Native American identity, as well as to perform a "Native American Trance Ceremony" based on their own notions of what that constitutes.