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Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art acknowledges it resides on the ancestral territory of the Osage, Kaw, and Otoe-Missouria, among other tribal nations forcibly moved to the region such as the Shawnee, Wyandot, Delaware, Potawatomi, Sac and Fox and Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) nations. We recognize and support the continued vibrancy of Native communities and cultures today who continue to thrive, as well as the inherent sovereignty of tribal nations. We are compelled to serve and advocate for these communities in accordance with our public mission.

Kemper Museum acknowledges and respects the diversity of Native people connected to this land today. Many recognize the land and all beings who live within it as relatives. We acknowledge the earth we inhabit, the waters of the Blue River, the Kansas River, the Missouri River, and the plants, animals, and people supported by them. 

We acknowledge our responsibility to be good caretakers of the land we occupy. 

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Mona Cliff/HanukGahNé (Spotted Cloud) (Aaniiih, born 1997), Conjured Topography, 2022, preciosa seed beads, maple wood, beeswax, copal resin, pine rosin, thread on plywood, 20 x 109 x 2 inches. Courtesy of the artist. Art and photo © Mona Cliff/HanukGahNé (Spotted Cloud). 

Mona Cliff/ Hanukgahné

Inspired by the lives and visual histories of Native women, Lawrence, Kansas-based artist Mona Cliff/HanukGahNé (Spotted Cloud) (Aaniiih, born 1977) creates regalia and ceremonial objects using traditional Native crafting methods such as seed bead embroidery and fabric appliqué.

In Conjured Topography (2022), Cliff symbolizes the relationship to earth and trees. She has taken a maple wood slice whose natural rings show the layers of the past and extend them into the present using undulating and seemingly topographical lines of precosia seed beads pressed into beeswax forms. Cliff says, “when you bead for someone it is out of love and prayer,” an intentional way of honoring and respecting someone or something. In this large wall sculpture, Cliff is using beads to access or conjure parts of the memories inherent in the rings of the wood that mark time. She brings forth parts of the wood’s natural form in an abstracted way using beads and imbues that form with honor and intention in the process. Her practice resides in a space of balance between tradition and pushing boundaries as a contemporary artist, where material is a key component, and the result is building on the roots of Indigenous people’s practices.