Elders

Reconstructed Tree, Sound

Duration: 25:52

Steven J. Yazzie, 2024

Elders, 2024 is an installation that includes sound and sculpture from the trunk and roots of a fallen tree and sections of wood found by Yazzie throughout Colorado forests and parks, including the Rio Grande National Forest, Sangre de Christo Range, Pike-San Isabel National Forest, and Cherry Creek Reservoir. Combining different species of wood (Blue Spruce, Pine, Aspen, Cottonwood and Maple) to create a singular, hybrid form, the work incorporates voices of Indigenous elders from Native nations throughout the Southwest that Yazzie interviewed, alluding to the natural process of aging, death, and decay, which is shared by all living beings. Excerpts of these recordings are edited in a way to highlight an Indigenous perspective of land, place and identity. Together they recount memories from childhood and meditations on their relationships to the land. The disembodied sounds imbue the wood form with the histories and knowledge shared by these elders, animating it with their words, and reflecting on themes of isolation, connection, and the contrast between life and death. 

Elders audio Contributors in order:

Sid Whiting, Lakota

Joy Harjo, Muskogee (Creek) Nation

Freddie Johnson, Diné

Dr. Gregory Cajete, Santa Clara Pueblo

Royce Manuel, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

Bernard Siguieros, Tohono O’odham Nation

Stan Rodriguez, Santa Ysabel Band of the Lipay Nation

Rose Ann Hamilton, Cahuilla

Honorable Gregory H. Bigler, Euchee

Dr. Linda Tihiwai Smith, Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Porou Iwi

Honorable Robert Yazzie, Diné

N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa

Photo Credit: Wes Magyar