Staats is a Mohawk artist based in Toronto. He was active in the Indigenous photography movement in the 1980s and first exhibited his work with other members of the Native Indian / Inuit Photographers’ Association (NIIPA). His work addresses themes of loss and renewal and explores connections between identity, memory, and cultural knowledge. Drawing on Haudenosaunee tradition, he has developed a restorative aesthetic that works toward healing and regeneration.

Image: Greg Staats, Skarù:ręˀ [Tuscarora] / Kanien’kehá:ka [Mohawk] Hodinöhsö:ni’, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Ontario, Mary [Anderson Monture], 1982, toned silver print, 37 x 37 cm, Indigenous Art Centre, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Gatineau.

For further reading, see:

Bassnett, Sarah. “Archive and Affect in Contemporary Photography.” Photography and Culture 2, no. 3 (November 2009): 241–46.

Chartrand, Rhéanne. #nofilterneeded: Shining Light on the Native Indian/Inuit Photographers’ Association, 1985–1992. Hamilton: McMaster Museum of Art, 2018, 16.

Hill, Richard. Greg Staats: Liminal Disturbance. Hamilton: McMaster Museum of Art, 2012.