From Turtle Island to Vistula’s Shores: Indigenous North American and Eastern European Futurisms in Dialogue

This dissertation imagines the possibilities of Indigenous North American and Eastern European artistic dialogues as a form of solidarity. The artists are examined through four chapters that touch upon themes of reinventing traditional stories and legends (Chapter Two), environmental issues as dystopias (Chapter Three), and futuristic folk practices (Chapter Four, Parts One and Two). Each chapter presents artists and filmmakers from different Indigenous and Eastern European communities, paired with activists and theorists that discuss: survivance, Sorrowfuturism, Hungarofuturism, Ethnofuturism and Indigenous futures with specific focuses on particular Indigenous nations and their unique perspectives. There are theories unique to each chapter, such as the concept of "care" not just caring for community, but caring for traditions and culture as seen in Chapter Four, Part One. Also, discussions of environmental issues in the anthropocene (Chapter 3) or the introductory chapter showcasing the existing relationships between Indigenous and Eastern European communities. Visualizing culture and traditional stories in the future, through a speculative lens, while also using pop culture characters to address topics around colonialism and imperialism can be found in the second chapter. Finally, folk practices and regalia in speculative worlds and spaces (Chapter Four, Part One) precedes the examination of more radical acts of folk art that confront dangerous ideologies and counter oppressive systems that target Indigenous sovereignty, LGBTQ+ communities and women's rights (Chapter Four, Point Two).