Providence is covered in art. Literally. The newest mural in the city celebrates the Narragansett Indian Tribe. The colorful, five story, painting shows a young Narragansett woman holding a photograph of Princess Redwing, a Narragansett activist and tribal leader who was born at the turn of twentieth century.
Among other things, Princess Redwing founded the Tomoaquag Museum with anthropologist Eva Butler in 1958.
“The fact that they were two women running a museum was unique in and of itself in that time period,” said Loren Spears, who now heads the museum in Exeter, Rhode Island. “But also to have this indigenous woman with her indigenous voice to be represented was really unusual for this time period.”
Spears was consulted as part of the mural project, which sits at the edge of downtown Providence. Of the roughly one-million residents in Rhode Island, only about three thousand identify as Narragansett said Spears, which speaks to the title of the mural, “Still Here.”
“It’s a very visible piece of downtown Providence now,” Spears said. “I think it’s a very beautiful addition to the city, but it’s also reminding people that we’re still here. And then her recognizing and acknowledging people like Princess Redwing who came before her.”
The mural was completed this fall by the street artist known as Gaia, in collaboration with the local public art nonprofit, the Avenue Concept.
