Indigenous Autonomy

Indigenous Autonomy is a community-based art initiative conducted by Hans Baumann and The ONWARD Project. The project is a contemporary response to the 1930’s Rainbow Bridge Monument Valley Expedition and draws from the wealth of archival material accumulated by The ONWARD Project over the course of 15+ years. Through a combination of community outreach, site-based research and cutting edge VR technology, this project documents contemporary Navajo experiences of Los Angeles and reimagines how cross-cultural exchange can foster social visibility and empower Native voices, places and stories in the present. In doing so, this project addresses long-standing narratives of marginalization and erasure amongst Native peoples and imagines the role that digital storytelling can play in reframing identity and preserving cultural memory.