Honoring the Care Takers of the Land, 2024

Inkjet, Paper, Wire, Archival Matboard
 

“Honoring the Care Takers of the Land” is inspired from the “PB Reading List” and a historical plow. The photograph of the landscape is facing the Native American Museum. The photograph behind the landscape is of western blue-eyed grass. It is a native grass that is from Western California. The tree is to represent a valley oak tree. Valley Oak trees and acorns have an important role in the Native Community and the land.  The leaves are made of photographs taken of the ground. This is to represent how the land has transformed. The design of the tree was inspired by the motion of cording tule when creating boats or other tools. The silhouette on the tree is of the plow. The original plow is a physical object that represents the complex of this historical site. The names written on the ground is from the “PB Reading List.”  The list is a document recorded for Sutter’s Fort. It was to document the Native Americans who worked at Sutter’s when it was in use. The plow was used by Native Americans to transform the land. Native Americans were used to work the land around and in the fort. Their hard work was exploited for. There are many layers to the history that Native Americans played at Sutter’s fort. Many names were never recorded and names of many who have been lost in time. This art piece was made to give these names and any other names (that were not recorded) a form to be memorialized. They shaped the land at Sutter’s Park, and they should be remembered.