Missy Whiteman (Visual Arts 1995) Speaks to Students During Common Experience

October 13, 2025

Perpich alum, Missy Whiteman (Visual Arts 1995), spoke with students during Common Ex on Monday, October 13th. Common Ex is a series of presentations where students often hear about the artistic life from practicing artists, many of whom are Perpich graduates. We were deeply honored that Missy (Northern Arapaho and Kickapoo) joined us on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. She also spent time with the Media Arts students in the afternoon.

Missy Whiteman (Visual Arts 1995), spoke with students during Common Ex on Monday, October 13th. After the presentation, she is pictured with, left to right, Jalena Gumban (Literary Arts 2026), Natalie Campbell (Musical Theater 2026), and Rebecca Bullen, Arts High School Principal.

Missy shared that her father and several grandparents were sent to American Indian boarding schools in their youth. The primary goal of the boarding schools was the forced assimilation of Native American children into the European-descent American culture. The process coerced many Indigenous children to give up their languages and religion. The generational trauma that her relatives endured had a significant impact on Missy’s family history and on her. “I’m so grateful to have art and be able to navigate these hard things through creativity and the creative process,” said Missy. “We are still reclaiming our language and our culture. We’re still here.”

Missy addressed the students as the “7th generation”, meaning that they are the 7th generation that their ancestors dreamed of when considering actions related to the environment, community, and cultural preservation. The concept emphasizes the interconnectedness of past, present, and future generations. Missy works with youth in the community by helping them channel their voices and culture through art. “What is sacred to you? What is your vision? How do you put that into your art?” she asked the Perpich students.

When Rebecca Bullen, Perpich Arts High School Principal, introduced Missy to the student body, she said, “I want to acknowledge that this event is being held in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a time to recognize and celebrate the history, culture, and ongoing contributions of Indigenous peoples across the country and in our own communities. It is especially fitting that we welcome today’s guest, Missy Whiteman. Missy’s work weaves Indigenous traditional practices and perspectives into living stories, speaking to the ancestral wounds of genocide and loss, the breath of revitalization, the endurance of culture, and the healing power found within creation itself.”

“There is no word for ‘art’ in the Arapaho language,” said Missy. “Artists know no bounds nor institutions. We just create.”

Jalena Gumban (Literary Arts 2026) found the experience to be particularly moving. “I’ve genuinely never been more moved by a Common Ex,” Jalena wrote. “It was so interesting and conceptually stimulating. And she reminds me of every girl I’ve ever loved: my mother, my sister, my aunt, my roommate, like I’ve never been more like immediately trusting of anyone before. She wasn’t confined by practice; she’s willing and understands that expanding your practice and knowledge always leads to more opportunity. She wasn’t defined by one type of thing; creation takes forethought and planning, and every choice reflects something even if its small. Things should be meaningful to you. Find what is sacred to you, like there is something in your life that you hold special, and quintessential to a piece of you.”

Missy Whiteman (Northern Arapaho and Kickapoo) is an Emmy-nominated writer, director, producer, interdisciplinary publiX* artist, and curator. Missy sees her work as a way to honor her ancestors and their stories. Her creative practice is heavily influenced by her late father, Ernest Whiteman, who instilled in her a deep artistic vision and the practice of art as a form of ceremony. Many of Missy’s films have screened on international, national, and local venues such as The Walker Art Center, National Geographic All Roads Festival, and Bilbao, Spain. Missy is a current recipient of the McKnight Fellowship for Media Arts, a Forecast Public Art Mid-Career grant, and is the alumni of The Sundance Native Lab Fellowship and Jerome Fellowship for her short film project “The Coyote Way: Going Back Home”. Her current project, “The Coyote Way X: Expanded Cinema” is a multi-dimensional cinematic experience of “The Coyote Way: Going Back Home” short film, intertwined with performance, live score, video mapping, and 360/VR.

*Missy uses the spelling “publiX” to acknowledge the use of an “X” as a signature on treaties with Indigenous nations. Because many Indigenous leaders could not read or write in English, the “X” acted as a mark of assent, signifying their presence and agreement to the treaty’s terms, even though it was often signed under duress or in a coercive context. The practice represents a complex history of coercion, resistance, and acquiescence.