EXHIBITION EL ZAGUÁN


Darrah Blackwater

Allocations: Self-Determination From Inside the Earth, Outward


ARTIST RECEPTION FRIDAY, March 20, 2026 | 5-7 PM | EXHIBITION IS ON VIEW THROUGH SATURDAY, April 11, 2026
AT HSFF’S EL ZAGUÁN, 545 CANYON ROAD, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

ARTIST TALK SATURDAY, MARCH 28, at 2 pm. Free and open to the public. Space is limited, so advance registration is required to guarantee seating.

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ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Allocations: Self-Determination from the Ground Upward is Darrah Blackwater’s first solo show. Focusing on multiple facets of how United States laws and policies have impacted and affected the ability of Indigenous nations and Indigenous people to determine their lives and their futures, this show focuses on the concept of spectrum sovereignty, or the use and control of radio waves on tribal lands. This issue epitomizes the importance of self-determination for Indigenous nations in the modern era, as wireless communications affect the everyday lives of Americans, including Indigenous people living on reservations. Similarly, the Dawes Act, the Indian Child Welfare Act and the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives are examples of how, over centuries, the United States has attempted or failed to acknowledge or protect the rights of Indigenous peoples through “allocations” of land, children, and respect.  Allocations: From Inside the Earth Outward challenges the scarcity reality that colonization has imposed on Indigenous communities by examining the concept of different allocations of rights and resources the United States has made to Tribes and Indigenous people. Further, this show raises the questions of who has the right to make these allocations to Indigenous nations, and whether an allocation is

Contact: Anne Kelly at anne@historicsantafe.org or call 505.983.2567 for more information.

©Darrah Blackwater

© Darrah Blackwater

About the Artist:

Darrah Blackwater is an artist and attorney, originally from Farmington, New Mexico. She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation, and focuses much of her work on advocating for the rights of Indigenous people, with an emphasis on Indigenous spectrum sovereignty, or the right for Indigenous people to own and control radio waves on tribal lands. Darrah graduated from Fort Lewis College in 2013 and earned her J.D. from the University of Arizona in 2020. After graduating from Fort Lewis, Darrah worked as a tennis professional in New Braunfels, Texas and Zhongshan, China. While in China she walked over 1,400 miles to raise money and advocate for children with disabilities. After graduating from law school she hiked the Colorado Trail on Ute homelands, 487 miles from Denver to Durango, Colorado. She recently served as legal counsel for the Office of the President and Vice President of the Navajo Nation. She currently lives and makes art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Contact: Anne Kelly at anne@historicsantafe.org or call 505.983.2567 for more information.

Darrah Blackwater