Yellowstone Times

Montana State University will honor alumna Wendy Red Star with an honorary doctorate at its spring commencement ceremony on May 9. Red Star, an Apsáalooke artist who grew up on the Crow Reservation in Montana, is known for her work that explores Apsáalooke history and her family lineage.

Red Star's art addresses overlooked aspects of history and highlights her ancestors and community. In 2024, she received a MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as a "genius grant." Her work is part of the permanent collections at major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, as well as the British Museum in London.

“I’m really excited that Native students can see that I’ve been awarded an honorary doctorate,” said Red Star. “That’s really important to me because I know if I was an undergrad student and saw that, that would be so inspiring.”

Red Star works with various media including sculpture, installation, photography, and textiles. Her research into historical archives sheds light on U.S. government policies aimed at assimilating Apsáalooke people into Western institutions. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from MSU (2004) and a Master of Fine Arts from UCLA.

“When I was in fifth grade, my mom said that my math teacher told her that I would never go to college and that I should think about doing a trade school," Red Star shared. "There wasn’t a lot of encouragement to be able to go to college."

At MSU, she initially majored in graphic design but was encouraged by an instructor to explore sculpture. “That just clicked for me,” she said. She also took classes in Native American Studies which deepened her understanding of her heritage.

Inspired by Apsáalooke Chief Sits in the Middle of the Land's words—“My home is where my tipi sits”—Red Star created an art installation titled “Interference” during her undergraduate years. The installation involved erecting large tipis on campus using only four foundational lodgepoles. Despite challenges such as repeated vandalism, she persevered with support from friends.

“The message to me was that they weren’t wanted there and that somebody was targeting them,” Red Star reflected on the experience.

Eventually moving the installation to Bobcat Stadium's football field, she set up the last tipi on the 50-yard line—a move she credits with helping her gain admission to UCLA’s graduate program.

While at UCLA, Red Star developed "Four Seasons," a photo series critiquing how institutions have objectified Native bodies and artifacts. Her work confronts misrepresentations perpetuated by colonizing ideologies.

“Wendy Red Star’s artistic excellence...make her an exceptional candidate for an honorary doctorate from Montana State University,” wrote Melissa Ragain, associate professor of art at MSU.

Reflecting on her time at MSU, Red Star described it as one of artistic awakening: “I have to say that one of the happiest times...was when I was discovering becoming an artist at MSU.”