06/14/2026
"The Rivers Remember Us"
Vector Illustration (Adobe Illustrator), 2026
Commissioned by American Indian Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
In 2024, I stood at Cahokia during the solar eclipse, surrounded by people of all different backgrounds who came to witness that moment. At a site shaped by Indigenous knowledge, we gathered again under the same sky. It was a reminder that these places still hold power, and that people continue to be drawn to them.
The river is a living system of memory. It connects mound cities like Cahokia to the present, carrying stories, relationships, and decisions forward through time. In Dakota understanding, what is above is reflected below. The stars, the water, and the land exist in relationship, and through that relationship, we continue to find our place.
This work comes from time spent traveling to burial and effigy mound sites across the Mississippi River valley, places where my direct ancestors once lived, gathered and were laid to rest. In these spaces, history is not behind us. It is still present, held in the land and carried through the water.
As I've traveled, I've been thinking about what it means to make decisions for peace for the generations that come after us. These sites ask us to move with care, to listen and to choose better where we can.
"The Rivers Remember Us" reflects that continuum. The eclipse speaks to cycles and transformation, while the life within the water carries memory forward. Past, present, and future are not separate, but flowing through one another. The choices we make now will continue on, just like the river.
