Ká:ra: Earrings

These earrings are inspired by an old photograph of my great-grandparents (dad's maternal grandparents). In our language, we call the sturgeon Ká:ra:. Our ancestors also gave the name to dandelions because they noticed these flowers would bloom when the time came to spear sturgeon for our food. There are stories of grandparents spearing sturgeon down at the lower Niagara river and using a horse to drag big surgeon up the ridge. Due to over fishing and the pollution of our waterways since Europeans arrived, the number of sturgeon have declined. When the reservoir was built and the US government took portion of our land, it disrupted our waterways and made it impossible for our people to fish for food within our territory. Another blow came in the 1980's when the US government made it illegal for us to spear fish. My generation will never have these stories since we cannot fully live the ways of our ancestors without the fear of persecution from the government. When I made these earrings I thought of my ancestors and wanted to show the connection they had and the connection we still have! We must keep fighting the fight for our Indigenous rights and our sovereignty. Because if we do not stand up, the outside governments will keep chipping away at who we are until we are no more. -Murisa Printup

• Width: 1.25"
• Height: 2.25"
• Depth: .125"