Meet Apolonia
Apolonia Susana Santos
“I am of the Tygh and Yakama Nations through my Matrilineal line. My heritage as a Traditional Fishing Woman has led me to understand the natural sciences and the study of the relationship between medicinal and healing arts. This living legacy of ceremonial practice is a rich source of knowledge that guides me. This is the basis of my artistic philosophy”
—A. Susana Santos
Image courtesy of Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie for the First People's Fund.
Learn more about First People's Fund.
A Pacific Northwest Native American Artist
Apolonia Susana Santos
(1954-2006)
Artist, Activist, Art and Cultural Liaison, Indigenous Warrior.
This website is dedicated to the artwork and life of Apolonia Susana Santos. A prolific painter, sculptor, serigrapher and writer, Apolonia leaves a legacy of creative vision for the Indigenous World and a call to action.
Her Art
Susana’s paintings and serigraphs often contain the dramatic and diverse landscape and sky of the High Desert. Snowstorms and the elements of wind, water, Sun and Moon appear with vigor. Her artistic interpretation of Salmon, Coyote and Big Horn Sheep express how strongly she was connected to her homelands. Interpretation of Native Women and Men in Traditional dress always has a contemporary flair. Her desire to preserve Indigenous ways and memory is apparent in her artwork and her activism.
Her Life
Apolonia’s untimely passing at age 52, leaves a void in the world of Native American Art. Though small in stature, she stood large in life as she painted, sculpted and created strategies toward social change for Native Youth. She fought diligently to protect traditional fishing and sovereignty rights of her People.
A member of the Tygh
Band and Yakama Nation, her ancestral homelands are
located along the Des Chutes River at Tlxni (Falls
of a Woman’s Hair) also called Shearers Bridge. She
held great pride in her Traditional fishing family
and encouraged all who fished to respect the River
and the Salmon. She was an enrolled member of the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs.
