Collection: Dibenindizowin (Liberty)

Inspired by the Hobo Nickels of the 1930s, our Dibenindizowin (Liberty) Collection is a reminder that colonial notions of Liberty are built off the blood and subjugation of Indigenous Peoples. The subjugation of Indigenous peoples, our bodies, and our lands is ongoing.

The American Buffalo/Indian Head nickel was minted from 1913-1938, featuring an Indigenous Man in one side, and a Buffalo on the obverse. At the same time as these coins were in production, Indian Residential Schools (Canada) and Indian Boarding Schools (USA) were at the height of their operations, and the American Bison ("Buffalo") had been hunted to near extinction. Indigenous Spiritual and Religious Ceremonies were outlawed, and Indigenous Peoples were still not legally considered persons. 

In the 1930s trainhopping migrant workers ("hobos") would carve Indian Head nickels into various designs, commonly skulls; a stark metaphor for the ongoing subjugation of Indigenous Peoples.