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When They Gathered 
When They Gathered was created in June 2024 during a 10-day event which was held to honor a Hocak Sculptor, Harry Whitehorse. It took place on the shores of Lake Monona in Madison. The triptych was painted in a cii serec (Hocak for long house), which I helped construct on the grounds prior to the event. I share these details to enhance my connection and the connection of my ancestors to this place, specifically on the shore of Lake Monona, where my ancestors once had villages.  
Before the forceful removal of my Hocak ancestors, they called it Tee Jope (Four Lakes).  Here they gathered, built community, had ceremonies, harvested wild rice and fished in dug out canoes.  They were the descendants of the mound builders, who created the effigy mounds around these four lakes.
Their story is part of my story which brought me to that same location centuries later. Using the same techniques as my ancestors to build the long house where the painting was created. The Ho-Chunk are still calling this land home, still calling it Tee Jope (Four Lakes), still present building community, gathering, returning to the water and looking forward to the future of Tee Jope.
In the spirit of my ancestors, I captured the story of their resilience and perseverance through the soft colors and complex layers of painting. The complexity of their story, giving life to mine. The textured background represents movement of the water and even the wind, with areas of light shining through the trees upon my ancestors. I felt their presence and imagined when they gathered by the water in the morning, they greeted each new day.
 
Original acrylic on canvas triptych, created in 2024.
Dimensions: (Triptych) 36”h x 36”w, 36”h x 48"w, 36”h x 36"w
2024 Woodland Indian Art Show & Market
First Place Theme Category - Spirit of Our Ancestors
 
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