Mantle

Mantle. The Virginia Indian Tribute , Dedicated April 17, 2018. , Mantle is an earthwork monument by Mohawk artist Alan Michelson, based on the deerskin mantle in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, catalogued as follows in 1656: Pohatan, King of Virginia's habit all embroidered with shells, or Roanoke. Historians believe the 34 embroidered shell disks, each sewn in a spiral pattern from which the shape of the tribute derives, may represent the nations of the Powhatan Confederacy, whose traditional homelands, Tsenacommacah, include this site., One of nature's fundamental forms, spirals are present not only in shells but also in the growth pattern of plants and trees. The tribute's terraced design and elemental materials, including indigenous stone and plants, honors the land now known as Virginia and its original inhabitants and keepers of the land , the Indian nations , and celebrates their active presence and enduring culture., Visitors are invited to follow the winding path to the fountain at the center, inscribed with the original names of Virginia waters., Echoing the indigenous spiral sense of time, from which one may look backward to the past and forward to the future, Mantle is a welcoming space inviting contemplation of the four "r's" of the indigenous worldview , respect, relationship, reciprocity, and responsibility.