As a symbol of humanity’s origin place, the celestial tree appears often in Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) art, especially in our beadwork. It figures prominently in my machinima, She Falls for Ages (2017), a sci-fi feminist retelling of our creation story. For the movie, I created a logo that showed up everywhere, on badges, banners and stages.  

Soon after finishing the movie, I was commissioned by curator Cheryl Sim to create a public art piece for Path of Resilience, an outdoor exhibition mounted along the Promenade Fleuve-Montagne in Montreal, during the summer of 2017, the city’s 375th anniversary. Asked to make something for the urban environment that has been built upon our territory, I wondered what it would be like if our street signs were based in Haudenosaunee culture. It was clear that the Celestial Tree was a good place to start.  

Designed and fabricated in the materials of a city traffic sign, the Celestial Tree commands our attention. As a beacon towards the pathway up the mountain, this work invites us to climb up, to gaze into the heavens and to imagine what our utopia could be.  

“Skawennati’s The Celestial Tree compels us to always dream beyond. What we are offered is an invitation to connect, enlivening an interaction between ourselves, the history of our city, the land it inhabits and our desires for its evolution. Playful and contemplative, these works are a manifestation of living and presence.” –Cheryl Sim 

Celestial Tree is in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum.