Working across video, sculpture, and performance, New Red Order [NRO] is a “public secret society” led by artists Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil, Ojibway from Michigan, and Jackson Polys, Tlingit from Alaska, who simultaneously satirize and promote solidarity for indigenous growth and agency.
Their cryptic name derives from The Improved Order of Red Men, a secret society of men who engaged in “playing Indian” by painting their faces red and wearing Native regalia. Founded before the American Revolution, the group protested British taxes during the Boston Tea Party, tossing tea into the harbor while dressed as Mohawk or Haudenosaunee native people. The group reemerged in the 1830s as a “whites-only” fraternity and still exists today with headquarters in Waco, Texas. Notable members have included Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and other prominent government and business figures, underscoring the country’s origins roots in indigenous appropriation and erasure.
Another aspect of this “public secret” (something we all know but rarely discuss), is settler-colonialism—the concept that America is built on stolen land. NRO therefore calls itself a public secret society to address these issues. They break free from the exclusionary limits of traditional art collectives by opening membership to anyone interested in joining, transforming desires for Indigenousness into actions that support and create indigenous futures. Those who join NRO become “informants” who participate in videos and performances that question the romanticization, appropriation, and commodification of indigenous people that results in their erasure.
In response to institutions that frequently ask Native people to educate audiences about settler-colonialism, NRO provides non-Native people as proxy educators. One of their most visible informants is the white, downtown New York actor Jim Fletcher. In a 2013 Wooster Group play called Cry Trojans, Fletcher performed in Native American dress, which sparked backlash from Native communities. NRO reached out to him, and through their conversations, Fletcher recognized the pain caused by his performance and began contributing to NRO’s projects, including Never Settle: Calling In.
The video is part of the larger, multi-faceted, participatory project Never Settle—in reference to settler-colonialism—that includes interactive installations and recruitment campaigns. Filmed in an infomercial style, Calling In is a short recruitment video aimed at encouraging non-native people to become informants for NRO’s public secret society. Enticing viewers with phrases like “Act with confidence” and “Experience clarity,” Fletcher encourages people grappling with settler legacies to explore their inappropriate desires and channel them into the fight against colonial structures.
Rather than shaming informants, NRO urges them to work through, utilize, and ultimately transcend their guilt to help dismantle the effects of settler-colonialism, because denying these tendencies only prolongs and worsens the damage. In the video, various multiracial, non-native people share testimonials about how they help expand Indigenous agency, alongside information on settler-colonialism, and ways to leverage it for Indigenous growth.
As with all NRO projects, the society finds that fun is an effective recruitment tool. They use humor and satire to engage viewers and cope with the absurdity of history. Yet, their efforts are sincere, providing resources such as a website (www.newredorder.org) and a phone number (1-888-NEW-RED1) for anyone to join. —Kanitra Fletcher