The National Museum of the American Indian in New York City has two main exhibits. The first is Native New York and features various Native American myths and legends to go along with an historical overview of the local indigenous people. The second exhibit is Infinity of Nations, which contains nearly 700 works of Native art from throughout the Americas.
The entrance to Infinity of Nations is sandwiched between two large murals by Jeffrey Veregge of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. Entitled Of Gods and Heroes, it combines the Native art of Infinity of Nations with the legends from Native New York – albeit the superhero myths of Marvel Comics as opposed to indigenous lore.
“This narrative illustrates the invasion of earth by celestial beings who target New York City for their landing,” Kathleen Ash-Milby, a member of the Navajo Nation and curator of Of Gods and Heroes, explains of the murals. “Their thunderous arrival creates a disturbance felt by Super Heroes across the globe who unite for a heroic confrontation. Veregge incorporates the S’Klallam language into the cover with the ominous words t’aʔmát ʔaʔ sx̣ʷiʔám’, which translates to ‘stories of suspense,’ and the term ɬəmɬəmcínəŋ, which describes the loud noise created by the aliens. His vibrant hybrid of Indigenous and popular culture reminds us that for Native artists the fantastical notion of alien invasion is not imaginary but a very real part of our history.”
Jeffrey Veregge was born and raised on the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s reservation, located thirty miles north of Seattle. Instead of sports like his fellow youths, he was drawn to the library and acquired an appreciation for comic books as well. After a brief stint at the casino bingo hall following his high school graduation, Veregge scored an interview with the FBI. It was during their meeting that he realized he wanted to pursue an art career and enrolled at the Art Institute of Seattle shortly afterwards. From there, he got a job as a graphic designer for a marketing company and began selling artwork influenced by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Marc Chegal.
Despite finding a level of success, Veregge still felt that something was missing. He thus began creating artwork centered around the comic books, films, and television shows he enjoyed in his youth. “I decided that I was going to start doing stuff for me,” he explained in October 2013. “Why not start making art that I want to see and stop worrying about what everyone else thought? I want to create what I like. I want to be that little boy who sees the magic of a white piece of paper.”
In his 1965 book Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form, art historian Bill Holm referred to the style of the S’Kallam Tribe as formline – “continuous, flowing, curvilinear lines that turn, swell and diminish in a prescribed manner.” Having been exposed to formline throughout his life, Jeffrey Veregge incorporated the method into his own artwork, along with graphic design techniques and various elements from the comic books he read as a kid.
“It is a merger of both my pride in my heritage and my passion for all things geek,” told the Seattle Times. “What I try to do with each piece is show my favorite characters with a Native flavoring, to see both the geek and the Native side with neither overpowering the other.”
Veregge eventually acquired a portfolio’s worth of artwork and posted it online, where the comic book industry soon took notice. IDW Publishing was the first, commissioning Veregge to draw covers for G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Judge Dredd. Then came a Facebook message from Marvel Comics editor Joe Quesada asking him to contact the company’s talent liaison. As a result, Veregge created numerous pieces for a Los Angeles art show that coincided with the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Marvel was also working on a new miniseries based on a Native American superhero named Red Wolf, who made his debut in 1970. In the ensuing narrative, the character is pulled out of the past and into the present, something Jeffrey Veregge – who was asked to assist with the project – found relatable.
“It is a wonderful chance to show a capable, intelligent hero who does not get lost or overrun with typical stereotypes that might prevent the reader from truly seeing what a great hero Red Wolf really is,” he told the Seattle Times. “He is a Native American from an alternate time, alternate dimension. It does not take away the fact that he is still a Native American. I myself no longer live on my tribe’s reservation, but it makes me no less S’Klallam. It is what is in your heart, what you carry with you on your journey that defines who you are.”
Jeffrey Veregge considers himself a “Salish Geek” – in addition to being a member of the S’Klallam Tribe, he is also a descendant of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes of Chief Seattle – and has found success combining those two elements into his art, creating over 100 comic book covers since first being contacted by IDW. “I’ve gotten to work on Star Trek, I’ve gotten to work on Spiderman, X-Men, Transformers, GI Joe,” he remarked in 2018. “Everything I’ve loved as a kid. I wish I could go back and tell that kid, you’re going to work on these some day and have a lot of fun doing it.”
Even more importantly, Jeffrey Veregge is keeping a tradition alive that dates back millenniums, and the importance of that fact is not lost on him “For thousands of years, Native and non-Native storytellers have used art as a means to share the tales of their people,” he explained during the premier of his Of Gods and Heroes exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian. “For me, I am simply carrying on a tradition that started with my ancestors by using the means of today, and all its modern conveniences, to share the tales that I love. Art evolves, artist tools advance, but the essence of what I do is the same as those who created with the canvases nature provided to tell the stories of gods and heroes long, long ago.”
Even if those gods and heroes now wear spandex.
Anthony Letizia
