She Walks Lightly is among the first works that Jeffrey Gibson (Cherokee and a member of the Mississippi band of Choctaw) made as part of his Everlast series using Everlast-brand hanging punching bags. This series combines his earlier abstract paintings—visible at the top of the bag—with elements often associated with Native American traditions and culture, such as beadwork, jingles, and fringe. Jingles (metal cones) are a part of powwow dress that was once made from the lids of snuff tins but are now manufactured overseas specifically for this purpose. Their use here exemplifies the ways that objects that might seem quintessentially Native are embedded in global histories, while still celebrating Native traditions. 

Gibson began creating his Everlast works when he was questioning his place in the art world as a queer, Indigenous artist who painted abstract canvases. He also took up boxing, which became a cathartic outlet for him. She Walks Lightly combines and celebrates these practices, marking a starting point for the unique artistic language that Gibson is known for today. Jingles, beadwork, and fringe are elements of women’s dresses in powwows, and this work’s title suggests that Gibson is also paying homage to the practice of crafting this regalia and to the women’s dances themselves.

Jeffrey Gibson (born 1972), She Walks Lightly. Everlast punching bag, wool, canvas, repurposed painting, glass beads, shell, steel, tin jingles, sequins, and nylon fringe, 2012. 77 x 51 in. (195.6 x 129.5 cm). Purchased with funds from The Joseph and Kathleen Magliochetti Fund, 2022.20. On view in Gallery 9.