Native American Heritage Month: Highlighting an Indigenous Creator

By EMMA LAUS

Beloit’s penultimate Native American Heritage Month event was held on Nov. 15 and organized by Clay Club, Anthropology Club and the college’s Campus Mound Sustainability and Advocacy Initiative (CMSAI). The groups collaborated to screen a talk given by Indigenous sculptural artist Rose B. Simpson. 

Located in the Weissburg Auditorium, attendees were greeted by a table of snacks and drinks before the event was briefly introduced by members of CMSAI and Clay Club. 

The talk primarily focused around Simpson’s work with sculpture and performance art, however she explores mediums such as writing and music as well. Her use of cars as a canvas demonstrates the ways in which her creativity often branches away from the use of typical materials. Inspiration for her work with car customization comes from what she describes as the brutalist art style of Santa Clara Pueblo, where she is from. 

Throughout the talk, Simpson screened images of her work and explained the artistic process behind each piece. These works often represent themes like resilience, expression of experience and identity as an Indigenous woman. She also shared several anecdotes, both humorous and deeply personal. 

The reminder that humans are simply guests on the land we inhabit was one that Simpson reiterated several times during the talk. This idea was brought up again after the talk, with several students mentioning that they resonated with it. 

Simpson’s talk was given earlier this year at the National Council of Education for the Ceramic Arts. Beloit’s Clay Club was among the conference’s large audience. The club’s co-founder, Mateo Marek‘25, had resonated deeply with the talk, saying, “It really really spoke to me… seeing …those shared ideas about what strength is and resistance and liberation. As someone who cares about community and wellbeing and health and art, I felt like this spoke a lot to what I try to work on while I’m here learning as a student or in ways that I’m trying to connect with other people.” 

Simpson’s talk can be found on YouTube under the title “2023 NCECA Cultivating Community: Rose B. Simpson.”

The college’s final heritage month event will be a panel discussion held on Nov. 20 at Richardson Hall. 

Featured Image Credit: Rose B. Simpson