Make Them Laugh, Make Them Think

In a white washed society, many non-Anglo cultures are looked over and go unrecognized. Their history and art go greatly unnoticed by the general populous, outside of the people within the culture itself. Steven Paul Judd is on a mission to make a change, and educate the world about his people and who they are, in a unique way that appeals to everyone; Through pop art.

Judd is a Native American artist from the Kiowa and Choctaw tribes, born in Lawton, Oklahoma but raised on a reservation in Mississippi. He is an alumni of Haskell Indian Nations University, the only all- Native American college in America, and pursued a degree in Communications at the University of Oklahoma before deciding to focus on his art and directing.

Growing up in the country, Judd lived very modestly, not coming into contact with a TV until he was in kindergarten, after contracting polio and experiencing television for the first time in his hospital room.

“I didn’t know what it was, and the movie Wizard of Oz was playing so it was black and white and then it turned to color. So I saw the transition of black and white to color. And then these monkeys came on the screen and I started crying, and that’s all I remember,” Judd said.

After moving back to Oklahoma, Judd decided he wanted to invest in some art, pop art like that of Andy Warhol, but with a Native American influence. But after tireless searching Judd realized the lack of mainstream art within the Native American culture, and decided to fill that void by making art of his own.

“I’m Native American, but I like popular culture and I never really felt like I was seeing those things blended together. I’m really just making things that I would consider cool. Some of the things are slightly political in nature, but there’s a cartoonist named Gary Larson that made a cartoon called the Far Side, and I really liked the way he could teach people things in a funny or ironic way. So I try and do my film and art the same way, where sometimes people will look at it and be like, ‘oh that’s pretty funny! But wait that really happened?’”

Judd feels the best way to educate is through satire and humor, making someone laugh and let their guard down, and then making them think. This peaceful style is embraced widely by fans, and has lead to many supporters of his work.

“Steven Paul Judd is such a creative spirit. His sense of heritage is always portrayed in his art, as well as his wonderful sense of humor.” Shannon Sherrod said, who is both a friend and fan of Judd.

Judd focuses his art on the true history of Oklahoma, rewriting it through the perspective of his ancestors who were victimized. He emphasized that one of his goals in both his art and film is to remind and educate people about the truth of Native American’s history in the United States, because even today he feels the history is swept under the rug.

“If you go to downtown Oklahoma City there are those big statues from the land run, and it’s got these people that are all happy in their huge wagons and there are zero Native Americans in there. It’s like, how can you have statues of a land run, or put Native Americans on your license plate for tourist reasons but not acknowledge the full history? I’m not saying anything like, ‘Oh, give us the land back.’ I’m just saying to teach the history.”

Judd has two different dates tattooed across his knuckles on each hand. 1778, the date of the first treaty signed between the United States and any indigenous tribe, which was broken after one year, and 1903 on the other, the date of the court case Lone Wolf V. Hitchcock. In the case, which the tribe would later lose, the Kiowa chief brought sued the United States government for breaking their treaty and illegally relocating them. These where just a few instances where a tribe signed a treaty with the United States, only to have it broken, an issue that fuels much of Judd’s work.

“What I feel strongly about are treaty rights, because those are contracts. Certain things you can be an activist about, like ‘save the whales’ or something like that, that’s a moral thing, like ‘how do I feel about killing off all the whales?’ To me treaties aren’t a moral thing; it’s a legal black or white thing. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good person or a bad person. If you’re following a treaty, you either follow it or you don’t. That’s why I think we have a leg to stand on with treaties.”

Laura Robinson, co-owner of a local business that sells art and antiques, displays some of Judd’s work, and had nothing but the highest praise for him as both a person and artist.

“My first impression of Steven was someone with a great sense of humor, he’s humbled by his life’s struggles and gifts and has a passion for educating through his art. Steven’s art not only provides a modern style, but does so with humor, historical references, a sort of timeless relevance. His style and Native American twist in his art really stands out and speaks to all.” Robinson said.

Now, after years of his talents being used on art, Judd has begun to branch out and spread his message through film and television. Judd’s television career started with writing for a Disney television show called “Zeke and Luther”, and he was quickly faced with more controversy in Hollywood.

“In the episode I wrote there was a gorilla, it was an acting gorilla, and one of the kids in the show let the gorilla scare his little sister, who was having a girl scouts meeting, and they were all dressed up like little Indians and they all started running around. But I didn’t write that part, I sent my script in and they added it in and I was like, ‘Whoa, wait a minute I would have a hard time explaining why I had all of these none Natives dressed up like Indians with feathers made out of construction paper, screaming and running in a circle.”

After bringing this up to the producers of the show, they told him that they were going to run it anyways. But after Judd’s continual protesting, one of the producers in the group realized the importance of Judd’s opinion in the matter, and agreed to make changes.

“The show didn’t come out for another year and I was back in Oklahoma by then, and I remember watching and going, ‘Oh man, what is going to happen?’ But they bust in and it’s all of the girls wearing these gis or some Asian kind of clothing. But I can only look out for us, you know what I mean?” Judd said, with a laugh.

Judd is currently working on several short films, along with several other projects, in the Seattle area and other cities in the northern United States. And while Judd continues to work around the country, his fame continues to grow. Even amongst Oklahoman and Native American celebrities he is beginning to gain support, with the likes of Billy Ray Cyrus, Adam Beach, the band Godsmack, and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings Russell Simmons and many more supporting his work.