Coil Mound at Horner Park
Donation protected
We are currently facing a unique time in our society as we see more and more people question what we consider public art. In the last few weeks, we’ve seen statues representing genocide and white supremacy removed. As this is happening, we must also look to the future of public art and ways to honor the true history of all people who call this land home.
The Coil Mound is an earthwork designed for Horner Park by Santiago X, an acclaimed Indigenous artist who aims to reinvigorate the ancestral mound building practice of his Koasati people.
He has designed two earthwork mounds as the anchors of the Northwest Portage Walking Museum, a multi-faceted learning experience that aims to promote environmental literacy, visibility of Indigenous peoples past and present, and appreciation of neighborhood histories connecting the Chicago Branch and Des Plaines River along Irving Park Road.
Seen from above, the two mounds create a living serpent figure winding in and out of the earth, with its body coiled by the Chicago River and its head rising up by the Des Plaines River.
The first mound POKTO ČINTO (Serpent Twin Mound) was publicly opened on Indigenous Peoples Day in October 2019 at Schiller Woods along the Des Plaines River. We are now raising funds to build the Coil Mound by the Chicago River in Horner Park and we need your help! We recently received a $25,000 match grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation so the first $25,000 we receive will be matched!
This is notably the first time effigy earthworks have been constructed by Indigenous peoples in North America since the founding of the United States. The two mounds will create a destination for connecting with Native peoples past and present in the Chicago area. The use of indigenous plant species on the mound will also allow visitors to learn about the natural setting of Chicago’s waterways. As people turn to the outdoors during the pandemic, the mounds are sites of care and healing, as well as educating the public about the rich cultural history of placemaking.
We hope to raise enough funds by September 1 so we can celebrate the final Coil Mound by Indigenous Peoples Day, October 12, 2020.
The Northwest Portage Walking Museum is led by a Steering Committee of organizations and neighbors on the northwest side of Chicago. The lead organizations are:
American Indian Center of Chicago: https://aicchicago.org/
Chicago Public Art Group: http://www.chicagopublicartgroup.org/
Portage Park Neighborhood Association: https://www.facebook.com/portagepark/
Santiago X, M.Arch, MFA is an Indigenous futurist and multidisciplinary artist specializing in land, architectural, and new media installation. He is an enrolled citizen of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana (Koasati) and Indigenous Chamoru from the Island of Guam U.S.A (Hacha'Maori). Santiago X has exhibited and designed internationally. He is a 2019 3Arts Award Winner, and the first Native American contributor in the Chicago Architecture Biennial. https://santiagox.com/
Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/NWPWM.
PLEASE NOTE: On the DONATE Page, a tip of 10% automatically goes to GoFundMe. If needed, you can choose OTHER, and type in “0” to eliminate this charge.
The Coil Mound is an earthwork designed for Horner Park by Santiago X, an acclaimed Indigenous artist who aims to reinvigorate the ancestral mound building practice of his Koasati people.
He has designed two earthwork mounds as the anchors of the Northwest Portage Walking Museum, a multi-faceted learning experience that aims to promote environmental literacy, visibility of Indigenous peoples past and present, and appreciation of neighborhood histories connecting the Chicago Branch and Des Plaines River along Irving Park Road.
Seen from above, the two mounds create a living serpent figure winding in and out of the earth, with its body coiled by the Chicago River and its head rising up by the Des Plaines River.
The first mound POKTO ČINTO (Serpent Twin Mound) was publicly opened on Indigenous Peoples Day in October 2019 at Schiller Woods along the Des Plaines River. We are now raising funds to build the Coil Mound by the Chicago River in Horner Park and we need your help! We recently received a $25,000 match grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation so the first $25,000 we receive will be matched!
This is notably the first time effigy earthworks have been constructed by Indigenous peoples in North America since the founding of the United States. The two mounds will create a destination for connecting with Native peoples past and present in the Chicago area. The use of indigenous plant species on the mound will also allow visitors to learn about the natural setting of Chicago’s waterways. As people turn to the outdoors during the pandemic, the mounds are sites of care and healing, as well as educating the public about the rich cultural history of placemaking.
We hope to raise enough funds by September 1 so we can celebrate the final Coil Mound by Indigenous Peoples Day, October 12, 2020.
The Northwest Portage Walking Museum is led by a Steering Committee of organizations and neighbors on the northwest side of Chicago. The lead organizations are:
American Indian Center of Chicago: https://aicchicago.org/
Chicago Public Art Group: http://www.chicagopublicartgroup.org/
Portage Park Neighborhood Association: https://www.facebook.com/portagepark/
Santiago X, M.Arch, MFA is an Indigenous futurist and multidisciplinary artist specializing in land, architectural, and new media installation. He is an enrolled citizen of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana (Koasati) and Indigenous Chamoru from the Island of Guam U.S.A (Hacha'Maori). Santiago X has exhibited and designed internationally. He is a 2019 3Arts Award Winner, and the first Native American contributor in the Chicago Architecture Biennial. https://santiagox.com/
Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/NWPWM.
PLEASE NOTE: On the DONATE Page, a tip of 10% automatically goes to GoFundMe. If needed, you can choose OTHER, and type in “0” to eliminate this charge.
Fundraising team: The Northwest Portage Walking Museum (2)
Frank Suerth
Organizer
Chicago, IL
American Indian Center Chicago
Beneficiary
Andrew Oleksiuk
Team member
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