A Story From the Earth: A Praise Song for an American Hero

Now available as a book "A Story From the Earth: A Praise Song for an American Hero": These images were created in praise of a Native American woman, Quatie Ross, for her gift of a blanket to a sick child during the Cherokee Removal to Indian Territory in 1838. A U.S. soldier who accompanied a contingent of Cherokees on their westward journey recalls the snowy night on November 17 when Mrs. Ross gave away her blanket and died from exposure before dawn, and in his eye-witness account he calls on the Anglo Saxon race to create “a towering monument” in memory of her act of compassion.

After the discovery of my own Cherokee ancestor in an unmarked grave, I became more acquainted with this painful period in our history, sometimes called “The Trail of Tears,” and I have here attempted to respond to Lieutenant Burnett’s request. Until such a time as a “towering monument” exists, may these simple figures serve as an act of remembrance for one whose act of compassion stands for many others, for mothers as unsung heroes and "giftgivers," and for the continuing journeys of displaced people worldwide - the “trails of tears” - that continue in our own time.

The book is available from http://diannedelaet.com/online-bookstore-gallery

Generations
nest, antler, peeled roots
Family
peeled cypress root
Braving Storm
burls, peeled root, pine rosettes
Protector
stump, root, feathers
Facing Forward
broken crab and seashells,
quartz, pod, feathers, polished branch
Sisters
root, broken pinecone, pod, vertebrae...
Standing Holy
stones, pod, deer skull, armadillo bone
She Prays
fossil piece, bark, branch, petal, shells, old marble
She Will Dance
corn, cactus, quartz, pod, petal, root
Walk Tall Woman
mud ball, fossil, vertebrae, pumice, stick...
She Who Is Great And Small
Standing Mother: peeled cypress root on stone
Mother and Child: petals, vertebrae, eucalyptus
Earth Child
seed on seed on wood
She Lives
seeds, stone...
Home
rock on burl, eucalyptus on crushed magnolia pod
Giver
corn, arrowhead, shell on burl
They Will Love
dead petals, seeds, seaweed
Spirit
polished wood, cactus branch
Knows The Way
seaweed, shell and eucalyptus on branch
Oh Mother
garlic skin, shells, tree core
In Ceremony
broken egg shells, pod...
In Procession
peeled cypress root, petals, antler
They Endure
branches, bone, stone, center of a seashell
Death Skips Ahead
bark, corn, twigs
Communion
sea stone, peeled branch...
She Who Finds Death
seaweed, tanbark on wood, piece of wasp's nest
No Name Girl
tanbark...
Unborn
eucalyptus, nest...
Holy Ghost Dance
sea matter...
Sentinel
firewood, sea matter...
Beloved Woman
sea matter, dead leaf, fossil
Journeying
beautiful feather, brussel sprout, cypress root, stone...
She Mourns
Mother: root, peeled and oiled
Child: flowers, petals...
Destiny
fern frond, arrowhead and seed, dead tree core
Going Home
meteorites, eucalyptus, volcanic rock, eucalyptus, twig
With Life
oiled gourd on stone
To Live
branches, painted egg on bark

DiannedeLaet

A Story From the Earth: A Praise Song for an American Hero