Native Hosts (Arkansas)
Native Hosts (Arkansas)
Artist
Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds
(Cheyenne and Arapaho, born 1954)
Date2018
MediumAluminum sign, series of seven
Dimensionseach: 18 3/8 × 36 3/8 in. (46.7 × 92.5 cm)
ClassificationsInstallation
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2018.19
Signedl.r., printed on each sign: HOCK E AYE VI EDGAR HEAP OF BIRDS 2018
Accession number
2018.19
On View
On viewLabel TextNative Hosts is an ongoing series of public art interventions to honor Indigenous peoples both ancient and contemporary. Six signs along Orchard Trail identify tribal grounds and histories that are connected to what is now known as Arkansas. One sign names the host as “Hestaneheo’o,” a Cheyenne term that translates to “Tribe of People” or “People of a certain place,” meant to welcome others. The backwards treatment of the word “Arkansas” destabilizes the viewer so that they might see this Native land in a new way. Edgar Heap of Birds states, “The tribal spirits who inhabited and do inhabit these lands . . . are present and deserve acknowledgement which is greatly lacking. As in any proper decorum it is fitting . . . to properly recognize one’s host.”
Anfitriones nativos es una serie en curso de intervenciones artísticas públicas que tienen por objetivo rendir homenaje a los pueblos indígenas, tanto antiguos como contemporáneos. Seis carteles, ubicados a lo largo del Sendero del huerto, identifican tierras e historias tribales conectadas a lo que hoy se conoce como Arkansas. “Hestaneheo’o” es un término cheyene que se traduce como “tribu de personas” o “personas de un cierto lugar”, y se utiliza para dar la bienvenida a otros. El tratamiento que se le da a la palabra “Arkansas”, dispuesta del revés, desestabiliza al espectador con el objetivo de lograr que quizá vea este territorio indígena con nuevos ojos.
