Kaw, Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds (born 1954)

As part of the artist’s Native Hosts series, this work names one of the five Native tribes with connections to the region that is now called Kansas. The colonial name is printed backwards while the name of the land’s original occupants is printed forwards. The visual tension reminds viewers of the displacement of Native Americans from their homelands. Created specifically for the Spencer Museum of Art, five signs in the series are displayed on our front lawn.