Knowledge Beings

“When I am gone and taken back into the earth, I feel good that those things are there to represent me, stand up for me, or speak for me while I am gone.” —Richard Zane Smith (Wyandot Nation of Kansas) For the contemporary Indigenous artists featured in Knowledge Beings, clay is a living medium that gives form to knowledge about land, ancestors, language, and identity. The artists experiment with artistic traditions while carrying forward generations of expert skill, and their own words—written and spoken—convey the Indigenous artistry and values behind each work, or “knowledge being.”