Our Lands are Not Lines On Paper

Shan Goshorn

2012

10”X 7”X7”

Arches watercolor paper splints, first printed with archival inks.

Photograph of the Great Smoky Mountains combined with historical map of Cherokee territory. Traditionally, we used natural landmarks to establish boundaries. Settlers brought a new way of regarding land and marking ownership. Traditional pattern is known as both mountain and river design.

    

So Long as These Waters Run

Shan Goshorn

2012

12.5”X8”X8”

Arches watercolor paper splints, first printed with archival inks.

Photograph of Oconoluftee River in Cherokee NC combined with maps showing decrease of Original Cherokee Territory to Final Cession. This is a single-weave basket technique; the paper is printed on both sides and the map is readable from the inside as well as exterior. The title was inspired by the following research: 

     As for the Cherokees, they faced a set of laws passed by Georgia: their lands were taken, their government abolished, all meetings prohibited. Cherokees advising others not to migrate were to be imprisoned. Cherokees could not testify in court against any white. Cherokees could not dig for the gold recently discovered on their land. A delegation of them, protesting to the federal government, received this reply from Jackson's new Secretary of War, Eaton: "If you will go to the setting sun there you will be happy; there you can remain in peace and quietness; so long as the waters run and the oaks grow that country shall be guaranteed to you and no white man shall be permitted to settle near you."

Artificial Boundaries (River and Mountains)

Shan Goshorn

2012

11” X 8’X 8” EACH

Arches watercolor paper splints, first printed with archival inks.

Photographs of the Oconoluftee River and the Smokey Mountains (from the ancestral homeland of the Cherokees) combined with historical maps showing the decrease of Cherokee lands. Indigenous people think of boundaries in terms of natural landmarks - the settlers brought a conflicting way of understanding regarding land usage and ownership.

Forever a Part of Us

Shan Goshorn

2012

2 X 3 X 3”

Arches watercolor paper splints, first printed with archival inks.

Double-weave basket featuring reproduced documents and images from Carlisle Boarding School student roster (names and tribes) and Captain Richard H. Pratt’s address where he coined the phrase “Kill The Indian, Save The Man”.

Forever Woven Into Our Fabric

Shan Goshorn

2012

13” X 16” X 16”

Archival watercolor paper splints, first printed with archival inks.

Double-weave basket woven with names from Carlisle Indian Boarding school student body (red) with boarding school manifesto, “Kill The Indian, Save The Man”(white). Even after several generations, the insidious influence of this boarding school in particular continues to have devastating effects on native people.