Terran Last Gun
'Color and form are the building blocks of my art practice and connect me to my Piikani heritage.'
Terran Last Gun, Saakwaynaamah’kaa (Last Gun), (USA, b. 1989) is an enrolled citizen of the Piikani Nation (Blackfeet) of Montana: one of four nations that make up the Blackfoot Confederacy, collectively called the Niitsitapi (Real People). Born and raised on the Blackfeet Reservation, Last Gun draws inspiration from land, cosmos, cultural narratives, and experiences. His work focuses on color and shape exploration, and the visual documentation of nature and recollections through various media, including ledger drawing, printmaking,painting, and photography. Last Gun’s drawings on ledger book paper merge Piikani art form and imagery within the context of 20th century art movements. He employs a visual language that infuses form and color with Indigenous symbolism to create new portals for accessing these histories.
The artist explains his artwork and the influence of Blackfoot culture as “vibrant energetic color harmonies”. He describes Piikani or Blackfoot painted lodges as “visual masterpieces of the Great Plains...[They] depict the world in which we live, through geometric geological landmarks, figurative animals, and the above world that connects us to Natosi (Sun).”
Last Gun received his BFA and AFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe (2016). His ledger drawings are currently on view in Indigenous Identities: Here, Now & Always, curated by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers in NJ. Recently, Modern Recordings of Ancient Blackfoot Symbolism, a two-artist exhibition, was at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO (2024). Last Gun has received solo exhibitions at Hockaday Museum of Art, Kalispell, MT (2024); Missoula Art Museum, MT (2023); Contemporary at Blue Star, San Antonio, TX (2021); and IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), Santa Fe, NM (2020). He was included in exhibitions at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), AZ (2025); Bates Museum of Art, Lewiston, ME (2024); The 8th Floor, NYC (2024); and Newberry Library, Chicago, IL (2023); among others.
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Terran Last GunPowers From Above Protect Us, 2024
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Terran Last GunAncient Beings Approach, 2024
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Terran Last GunArrival of Magnificent Energy, 2023
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Terran Last GunEvents Are In Motion, 2023
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Terran Last GunTake A Moment To Rebalance, 2025
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Terran Last GunOur Future Holds Brightness, 2025
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Terran Last GunLayered in Extraordinary Events, 2023
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Terran Last GunSites of Higher Encounters, 2023
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Terran Last GunVisual Iconographic Connection, 2023
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Terran Last GunGive New Energy, 2023
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Terran Last GunOur Planet Is Ancient, 2023
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Terran Last GunAscending To Vast Views, 2023