Jim Denomie (1955 – March 1, 2022) was an Ojibwe Native American painter, known for his colorful, at times comical, looks at United States history and Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

While he sought family support in dealing with racism, stereotypes, and peer pressure, they rarely helped, as many of his relatives and friends dealt with their own conflicts regarding assimilation.

But we may come back to it sometime later and look at it again with a perspective enhanced by experience and development and say, “this painting needs more work.”[5]His preferred creation time was in the evening, listening to music by the likes of Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dire Straits, among others.

Denomie credited his primary instructors at the University of Minnesota as major influences on his painting, as well as his family, dreams, memories, and his own life experiences.

[1] Works such as Attack on Fort Snelling Bar and Grill (2007) are a comical examination of 19th century American events and contemporary culture.

A group of four Indians, one in a lake, while the others reclining in a grassy area, relax after a day of skinny dipping and Edward Curtis is shown in the corner, with his camera, prepared to take pictures.

[1] Peking Duck (2008) parodies the Bering Strait theory by showing an Indian riding in a rickshaw carrying Chinese takeout in his hand.

Above the taxi is a Denomie's own version of The Creation of Adam, depicting White Buffalo Calf Woman giving a drum to the Lakota people.

The concept, similar to Chris Ofili's Afro Muses series, allowed Denomie to get his "head into the oven" of art creation.

Wabooz is a common image in Denomie's paintings, as an animal that he identified with, the rabbit is also representative of the Ojibwe trickster figure Nanaboujou.

The intense recount between Al Franken and Norm Coleman is shown in Split Decision, where Paul Wellstone is the referee standing between the two politicians, dressed like boxers.

Denomie's signature cast of characters sit in the audience: Wabooz, an Indian riding a horse, a coyote, a moose, and plenty of unenthusiastic people.

[7] Former governor Jessie Ventura is shown only wearing a thong and a feather boa; he has a cigar in his mouth, a fishing rod set with a grenade in one hand, and a fist of money in the other.

No politician of recent Minnesota history escapes the wrath of Denomie's paintbrush; Norm Coleman sits on a toilet and Al Franken counts ballots behind him.