O’tá:ra

Akwesasne Mohawk artist Natasha Smoke Santiago has spent the last two decades mastering traditional Haudenosaunee pottery techniques. Her unique work incorporates storytelling, activism, and the exploration of native foodways, including experiments with seedkeeping and collaborations with Indigenous chefs. The exhibition’s title, O’tá:ra (pronounced oh-da-law) takes its name from a Mohawk phrase that means both “our clay” and “our clan,” a testament to clay’s foundational role in Haudenosaunee culture.

Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY), a project of the Tides Center, is a three-year $125 million investment in the financial stability of New York State Artists and the organizations that employ them. This exhibition was made possible through support from CRNY’s Artist Employment Program.

The Everson is supported by the Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation; the General Operating Support program, a regrant program of the County of Onondaga with the support of County Executive, J. Ryan McMahon II, and the Onondaga County Legislature, administered by CNY Arts; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.