Old Homeplace, 2024, rice paper, cloth, encaustic and hog rings on panels, 135 x 180 x 2.25 inches, 12 panels - each 45 x 45 inches, Photo credit: Mario Gallucci

A work based on Dawes Allotments. The work is in process - this image is one section (48x43) and represents 1/6 of the Map Section.
My Granny’s allotment was in the Cooweescoowee District of Cherokee Nation. My dad grew up farming it and he hunted and fished in those Verdigris River valley lands. She lost her allotment due to inability to pay the taxes or through borrowing on it - I’m not sure. But I surely remember my dad sadly saying, “There’s the old homeplace” everytime we drove by.

Losing allotted land is not unique to my family. I have thought about making this piece for a long time and have been conflicted about making such a personal piece.  This map is only a small section of the Cooweescoowee District, which is only one part of Cherokee Nation, and the Cherokees are just one of many tribes whose communal lands were forcibly divided. And it’s ancient history now.  But the story of political theft of Indigenous land, of attempted genocide through graft and assimilation is not just personal to me, it’s universal and current in many places in the world.