Oneida artist's sculpture depicting Native culture made to last 'forever' in Wisconsin park
STEVENS POINT - In theory, Mark Fisher said his public sculpture depicting Indigenous culture that was recently installed at Lake Emily Park near Stevens Point should “last forever.”
The area his “The Sustainers” sculpture was installed at is a place where Indigenous people have been visiting for thousands of years, as evidenced by archeological finds, including ancient burial mounds.
Fisher, who is Oneida, said his sculpture represents the "Three Sisters" of corn, beans and squash, which are always grown together in Indigenous agricultural techniques and are an important part of Oneida culture.
It took him about three months to complete the piece, which is made entirely of copper.
The project was funded through CREATE Portage County in partnership with the Portage County Parks Commission.
“Portage County decided to put a sculpture there because of the burial sites and dancing rings in the area,” Fisher said. “They wanted to honor it in a proper fashion.”
Dr. Ray Reser, curator of anthropology at UW-Stevens Point, said researchers have found several prehistoric dance rings and burial mounds in the area.
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“We have evidence based on finds of stone tools in the immediate area that speaks to ancestral Native American presence going back at least 11,000 years on and near this site,” he said. “Its most extensive use seems to have been about 1,000 to 1,500 years ago when the mounds and other landscape features were created.”
Reser said Native peoples continued to visit the area as recently as the 1940s.
“When I interviewed local landowners in the early 1970s, several remembered a large seasonal camp of bark houses south of the lake in a wooded area used by Native peoples who came mainly in spring and fall to gather resources, fish and provide labor on local farms,” he said.
Reser said Fisher’s sculpture is a fitting tribute in the park.
“The Sustainers installation, depicting plants regularly grown around Lake Emily 1,000 years ago, along with fish from the lake being used both for food and fertilizer ... speaks to that continued Native presence on the landscape,” he said. “The sculpture is also a striking reminder that Native artists, and Native peoples, are here, are still connected to this place, and have created something to celebrate and mark this location into the future.”
Renowned Oneida beadwork artist Karen Ann Hoffman, who lives in the area, also had worked to make the project happen.
“My goal is to create a place for a piece of public art that will cause visitors to slow down or stop and consider the long history of the place,” she said. “To enjoy the park with a deeper connection.”
She also is working on a project to have a Native artist install a public piece at UW-Stevens Point to memorialize the dozens of Indigenous peoples buried underneath the campus, a project that is progressing much more slowly than Hoffman would like.
This past summer, Fisher also installed a piece called “Among the Aspens” in downtown Green Bay, which includes three bronze and copper aspen trees ranging from 12 feet to 16 feet tall.
Frank Vaisvilas is a Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.You can directly support his work with a tax-deductible donation online at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Stevens Point sculpture created by Oneida artist honors Native culture
