The Return of the Force, Part 2: From Apache to Zuni
This post is the second in a series that showcases Star Wars art by Native artists that were included in a recent exhibition entitled The Return of the Force at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, Arizona. These stories were provided by artist and curator Duane Koyawena (Hopi/Tewa), and Samantha Honanie (Hopi/Diné), volunteer consultant and librarian at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.
Rod Velarde, Jicarilla Apache
Rich: Sam, as we start to make our way through the exhibit, can you tell me about these two mixed media pieces?
Sam: These first two pieces are by Rod Velarde, a Jicarilla Apache artist who incorporates a lot of mixed media artwork on pieces, like licensed helmets and toy figures. He’s previously done pieces like these in the Mimbres style from southern New Mexico.
You can see that in the animal figures, and in the way he highlights the influence of traditional art and his cultural heritage in the four-foot figure and the mixed media painting. He sometimes creates pieces in black and white, but these are a little more colorful. You can see there’s things like fish, birds and natural elements incorporated, while also taking on that pottery style that is really popular with all ages. You can also see how he uses both 3D and 2D elements. I like that he left the blaster in the canvas piece white to draw your eye to that specific element.
A lot of the guys are also enthused about Rod Velarde because he does a lot of comic cons and dresses up in costume too. So he’s probably one of the most popular artists in this exhibit.

Rod Velarde in Native American-styled Mandalorian Costume
áyA Con 2024
Photo by Daniel Suave
He’s done a number of helmets and people have collected those, so when we premiered the second exhibition, some of his collectors wore them to the exhibit. It was really cool to see people not only enjoying them as art pieces but actually wearing them!
Alessia and Fabian Queisowki, Zuni

Alessia and Fabian Queisowki, Zuni
Beadwork figures: AT-ST, C-3PO, R2-D2, Jar Jar Binks, Boba Fett, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Yoda, Darth Vader
On loan courtesy of Museum of Northern Arizona
Rich: There’s a little bit of a glare on the case, but please tell us about this little collection of beaded figures.
Sam: Those pieces were in the initial exhibition. They actually belong to the Museum of Northern Arizona in their permanent collection. Those are by two Zuni artists – a husband and wife duo, Alessia and Fabian Queisowki. What Tony (the person who purchased them for the museum) really liked about them is that some of them are articulated. If you look at the Leia piece, you can see not only did they bead the whole Leia figure, but they also made a hood for her robe that actually moves on and off. Definitely really cool and different, especially since it takes great skill and effort to make lightsabers. Yes, all the details on Chewbacca to make him look furry, and Boba Fett even has his blaster and his cape!
Darby Raymond-Overstreet, Diné

Darby Raymond-Overstreet, Diné
Light Sabers
Beadwork
Rich: I’m going to come around the corner to the other side of this case and we’ve got some very interesting bead work here. Please tell me about these beaded lightsabers.
Sam: Those are by Darby Raymond-Overstreet, a Diné artist who has another piece in this exhibit as well. One of the things that we’ve tried really hard to do in this exhibit is to be inclusive of different people’s perspectives. A lot of the artwork of course is done by male artists, but being able to incorporate the female perspective and picking up on what they want to highlight is very important to us.
Darby does a lot of graphic design, but she is very accomplished and skilled at beadwork, as you can see in the fine details she has incorporated into these lightsabers. People do have their favorites when it comes to lightsabers – they have certain colors and are associated with different characters, so we are excited to have such a wide array among the ones that she featured.
Ryan Singer, Diné

Rich: All right now, we’re moving on to a piece by Ryan Singer. I would love to learn about the influences that inspired this piece.
Duane: This one actually belongs to the Museum of Northern Arizona. This is part of the permanent collection and the title of it is (De)Colonized Ewok. It is playing off of a really famous before-and-after portrait of a young native man whose photo was taken before he entered into boarding school and then the other after he was “assimilated”.
What Ryan is saying in this depiction expresses some really tough situations and topics regarding boarding school and the impact that it had on native people and their culture. From the late 1800s to the mid 1900s, children were forcibly removed from their homelands, and put into these boarding schools in an effort to “civilize” them. The goal was to remove elements from their culture, like punishing them if they spoke their languages, or changing their appearance to make them look the part.
It’s important that he’s kind of spoken about that idea and it is interesting to people because it incorporates characters they know from Star Wars and can kind of relate to. It makes them begin to think about a really tough subject, and I think that’s a really interesting part of what he’s able to do with his artwork.
Randy Kemp, Choctaw/Mucogee-Creek/Euchee

Rich: Alright, Sam, please tell us about this interesting piece by Randy Kemp.
Sam: I love this piece by Randy Kemp. He was featured in the first exhibit, and we’re glad that he was able to do it again. What I like is that he’s Choctaw/Mucogee-Creek/Euchee, and he really taps into mixed media. You can see some different pieces that he used for the buttons on Councilman Wookie, which are pretty funny. You can see a couple of Buffalo-head nickels, chips from a casino, and Chewie has a gold tooth. I love that commentary right there, maybe a political aspect of this artwork, but his use of texture and color really draws people in. I think that he has collectors who really like his perspective. I sure can appreciate the mix. All his pieces have been about the Wookiee, so he loves Wookiees.
Stay tuned for more diverse perspectives coming up in Part 3: Wearable Art, Comic Art & More.
Read Return of the Force Part 1