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Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyenne and Arapaho Nation) is an acclaimed multidisciplinary artist whose work has long advocated for recognition of historic and ongoing forms of oppression of Indigenous peoples in the US and globally. In conjunction with the new Vassar course “Native American Visual Sovereignty,” which highlights the many ways that Native artists have claimed political power for themselves and for their communities, we are honored to welcome Heap of Birds for a virtual visit from his home in Oklahoma. 

Heap of Birds is Professor Emeritus in Native American Studies from the University of Oklahoma, where he taught for over 30 years. His artworks can be seen in museums, galleries, and in public art installations around the globe. Heap of Birds received his BFA from the University of Kansas, and then pursued graduate studies at the Royal College of Art, London and the Tyler School of Art, where he received his MFA in 1979. Among his many honors are inclusion in the 2007 Venice Biennale, a Ford Fellowship in 2012, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020. 

Co-sponsored by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Native American Studies, American Studies, and Political Science. Generous support provided by Art Bridges.