Katie Keaveny
Muley Point Blog Entry
We started off our first field experience at
Muley Point, which was a part of Bears Ears National Monument, before it was
greatly reduced in size by Donald Trump in 2017.
The monument itself was founded by the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and
its leaders from the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Pueblo
of Zuni, and Ute Indian Tribe. “The Coalition represents a historic consortium
of sovereign tribal nations united in the effort on multiple fronts to work
collaboratively to protect and promote sacred, spiritual, historical, natural,
scientific and cultural resources on lands within the Bears Ears
landscape(https://bearsearscoalition.org). “
We
had the pleasure of speaking with members of the Utah Dine Bikeyah, who are also an organization
fighting for the protection of Bears Ears. They spoke of the importance of the
land to them and how they are fighting to protect it. They also spoke of the
current racism, political structures, and the incredible history of their
ancestors on the land. It was an honor to listen to their stories and be
welcomed onto their sacred land. Something that stuck with me was one of the
members of the Dine Bikeyah said “This is our medicine, this is where we go to heal. The
Earth will heal you”.
The rest of the time we spent at Muley Point, was
focused on our individual art practices. In my art practice, I have been
focusing on creating my own emotional and spiritual healing. I have done this
in various ways through a visual language that I have created and through
processing difficult emotions and feelings through artmaking. During our stay I
wondered, how are art, healing, and nature related? Are they separate? Does
separating them create pain and violence? If we go to the Earth to heal, will
this create healing for the Earth?
The rocks at Muley Point became a starting point
for me to ground myself, literally.
No comments:
Post a Comment