Sepia-tone photographs appear fleetingly on layered screens. American Indians in the 1800s, despondent and drained yet clad in regalia (over tattered work overalls). Fade. On come recent photos of tribesmen somewhat more rotund, in jeans and T-shirts and brandishing beer in place of traditional rattles. So what does it mean in this day and age to be a Native American? What is the place of the world's indigenous people today? Welcome to Emendatio, latest provocative and humorous labour of James Luna, contemporary installation/performance artist extraordinaire. He also 'happens' to be a fully-fledged member of the Luiseño tribe from southern California. He defines himself a 'crossover' artist, comfortable in both mainstream contemporary and traditional worlds. Luna is in Venice for a collateral Biennale event at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, and is representing the prestigious Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. The centrepiece of his multi-faceted, multi-medium project is an installation, The Chapel for Pablo Tac, homage to a fellow tribesman who trained for the priesthood in Rome in the 1830s. Tac, a strong thinker, broke the commonly held assumption that Indians could not be educated. He developed an alphabet for the tribe's language and set down on paper his people's plight through 'missionisation'. Emendatio is an attempt to redress misconceptions about native peoples. Through starkly contrasting - and often zany - images from past and present, visitors have their views challenged. 'I hope people will stop in their tracks and realise what this is about,' confides Luna, 'as well as learning something. His people are presented as survivors rather than victims - in fact their very banishment to remote reservations may have turned out in their favour in the long run as they developed adaptation techniques. On this occasion in Venice, vast leaps of time and space are embraced as his setting is an inspiring garden designed by revolutionary modernist architect Carlo Scarpa, on the ground floor of a 16th-century palace. As his conclusion Luna will be doing 'Renewal', a ritual and dance embodying values common to indigenous cultures the world over - for instance that 'every place is a Native place', Venice included.