Kanza Nation
If we look at the Ad Astra figure—what do we see? What Native American references and associations are at play in this piece? Is the figure even trying to represent local indigenous history and life? The Kanza, or “the people of the south wind”, also known as the Kaw, are the Native American nation to which the state of Kansas refers by way of its name. Living as part of the Dhegiha-Siouan group pre-1600s, the Kanza lived east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River. At some point before the 1600s, the Dhegihans migrated down the Ohio River and separated into five distinct tribes: the Kanza, the Quapaws, the Omahas, the Osages, and the Poncas. We don’t know for sure the reasons for this migration, but it is highly likely that eastern Indians were forced west by European colonization on the eastern coast, pressuring the Dhegihans to also migrate west. The original Kanza population is not well documented, but we know that post-European contact, the population dramatically dropped from several thousand to 1,500 and, at its worst, (16 years post removal) 194 after being coerced into leaving their native Kansas lands.
Currently 3,510 members strong, the Kaw Nation lives predominantly around Kaw City, Oklahoma, the location resulting from the government sanctioned forced removal. On their well-kept tribal website (see www.kawnation.com) you can find rich resources and various Kaw related topics for public education. However, only on the first tab of three covering cultural history do we find information addressing the culture of the Kaw people before European contact. Here we learn the basics of traditional Kaw life. For example, we find background on how the Kaw build their roundhouses, the ways in which they dressed, and about their kinship and relations with neighboring tribes. Apart from the website, there is still little reliable information about the Kanza on thoroughly sourced online pages. Even so, there are two well-researched and fairly comprehensive books written about the Kanza. Before 1986 when William Unrau’s published the book "The Kanza Indians: A History of the Wind People, 1673-1873”, there were nearly no publicly accessible compilations of information on the Kanza. As I explain in more detail in my visual traditions section ), Unrau’s “The Kanza Indians” was important to the Ad Astra figure; Richard Bergen used this book as reference in his preparations for his work.
The most obvious incongruity springs from the near nakedness of Ad Astra. Clothed minimally in a loincloth and moccasins, Ad Astra lacks the substantial traditional culture of dress of the Kanza. Traditionally, Kanza men wore a breechclout, in red or blue, with a belt and deerskin leggings along with moccasins that usually showed no ornamentation. Seasonally blankets would be wrapped around the top half of the body. Ear ornamentation was popular, made with shells, beads, or metal ornaments attached to the rim of the ear. Hair adornment also occurred frequently, sometimes including an eagle feather or a roach, which was made of deer tail, dyed red, and parted longitudinally by a spreader. Kaw women wore moccasins, knee-length leggings, skirts, and sometimes a blanket or cloth over their shoulders. Usually women wore their hair long, parted it in the middle and colored the part with vermillion. Traditionally, Kaw dress was far more complex and functional in contrast to Ad Astra’s plain and token loincloth and moccasins.
Part of the Dhegiha-Siouan division of the Hopewell cultures of the lower Ohio Valley, the Kanza assumed control over the region over what is present-day Kansas City. Residing in bark-covered roundhouses the Kanza hunted buffalo and cultivated small crops. In fact, Kanza agriculture is a strong cultural link between the indigenous people on whose land we live and the white settlers who pushed their way into the state and currently live here. Perhaps more importantly, though, it is a commonality that is frustratingly absent from the Ad Astra sculpture. How well people relate to an image they see as separate from themselves often depends on the things shared in common with the representation. Thus, I find it rather confounding that the Kansas opted for a warrior figure to represent a people most proud of their agricultural legacy.
The Kaw grew crops of corn, squash, beans, and sunflowers. In fact, sunflowers provided more than food for the Kaw; the sunflower seeds served as a pesticide for corn borers, an essential tool for successful agriculture. In picking a symbol for Kansas, a Kaw farmer, perhaps even with a sunflower crop, much more than a star-struck warrior clad as noble savage would have made sense historically. Could the reaching for the stars not be as easily conveyed with a gesturing hand or an up-lifted gaze? With the focus of the Topeka skyline fixed on Ad Astra it is essential to question how fitting our representation actually is. Whether or not the modern Kansans enjoy the sculpture, it seems that they have accepted Ad Astra as a representative of the essence of what Kansas wants to be.
Traditional Kanza life inevitably changed as Europeans pushed into their territory. Their habits of life and dress adapted to the stresses of European competition and persecution. Ultimately, persistent legal harassment by the American government eventually pushed the Kanza out of their native lands. What does it mean that Ad Astra was selected and crafted by and for the government that not so distantly seized the land that was home for the Kanza?
Currently 3,510 members strong, the Kaw Nation lives predominantly around Kaw City, Oklahoma, the location resulting from the government sanctioned forced removal. On their well-kept tribal website (see www.kawnation.com) you can find rich resources and various Kaw related topics for public education. However, only on the first tab of three covering cultural history do we find information addressing the culture of the Kaw people before European contact. Here we learn the basics of traditional Kaw life. For example, we find background on how the Kaw build their roundhouses, the ways in which they dressed, and about their kinship and relations with neighboring tribes. Apart from the website, there is still little reliable information about the Kanza on thoroughly sourced online pages. Even so, there are two well-researched and fairly comprehensive books written about the Kanza. Before 1986 when William Unrau’s published the book "The Kanza Indians: A History of the Wind People, 1673-1873”, there were nearly no publicly accessible compilations of information on the Kanza. As I explain in more detail in my visual traditions section ), Unrau’s “The Kanza Indians” was important to the Ad Astra figure; Richard Bergen used this book as reference in his preparations for his work.
The most obvious incongruity springs from the near nakedness of Ad Astra. Clothed minimally in a loincloth and moccasins, Ad Astra lacks the substantial traditional culture of dress of the Kanza. Traditionally, Kanza men wore a breechclout, in red or blue, with a belt and deerskin leggings along with moccasins that usually showed no ornamentation. Seasonally blankets would be wrapped around the top half of the body. Ear ornamentation was popular, made with shells, beads, or metal ornaments attached to the rim of the ear. Hair adornment also occurred frequently, sometimes including an eagle feather or a roach, which was made of deer tail, dyed red, and parted longitudinally by a spreader. Kaw women wore moccasins, knee-length leggings, skirts, and sometimes a blanket or cloth over their shoulders. Usually women wore their hair long, parted it in the middle and colored the part with vermillion. Traditionally, Kaw dress was far more complex and functional in contrast to Ad Astra’s plain and token loincloth and moccasins.
Part of the Dhegiha-Siouan division of the Hopewell cultures of the lower Ohio Valley, the Kanza assumed control over the region over what is present-day Kansas City. Residing in bark-covered roundhouses the Kanza hunted buffalo and cultivated small crops. In fact, Kanza agriculture is a strong cultural link between the indigenous people on whose land we live and the white settlers who pushed their way into the state and currently live here. Perhaps more importantly, though, it is a commonality that is frustratingly absent from the Ad Astra sculpture. How well people relate to an image they see as separate from themselves often depends on the things shared in common with the representation. Thus, I find it rather confounding that the Kansas opted for a warrior figure to represent a people most proud of their agricultural legacy.
The Kaw grew crops of corn, squash, beans, and sunflowers. In fact, sunflowers provided more than food for the Kaw; the sunflower seeds served as a pesticide for corn borers, an essential tool for successful agriculture. In picking a symbol for Kansas, a Kaw farmer, perhaps even with a sunflower crop, much more than a star-struck warrior clad as noble savage would have made sense historically. Could the reaching for the stars not be as easily conveyed with a gesturing hand or an up-lifted gaze? With the focus of the Topeka skyline fixed on Ad Astra it is essential to question how fitting our representation actually is. Whether or not the modern Kansans enjoy the sculpture, it seems that they have accepted Ad Astra as a representative of the essence of what Kansas wants to be.
Traditional Kanza life inevitably changed as Europeans pushed into their territory. Their habits of life and dress adapted to the stresses of European competition and persecution. Ultimately, persistent legal harassment by the American government eventually pushed the Kanza out of their native lands. What does it mean that Ad Astra was selected and crafted by and for the government that not so distantly seized the land that was home for the Kanza?