This article covers two exhibitions featured in the 5th National Native Artist Symposium in Halifax: Pe’l A’tukwey marked the beginning and Indigena: Contemporary Native Perspectives marked the end of the symposium. Indigena was composed of nineteen Native artists from across the country responding to the Oka crisis. “Pe’l A’tukwey was Atlantic Canada’s first major survey exhibition of contemporary Mi’kmaq and Maliseet art.” Robin Metcalfe provides a brief history of the cultural dynamics and clashes between Native Americans and European settlers, as seen in the content of the artwork. Metcalfe questions how a Native American audience may respond to contemporary trends featured in the exhibitions. How relevant is this work to a Native American community, and does its relevance simply run as far as a Native American ART community?