Artist Chelsea Kaiah set out to create something that, when Ute people come to see it, makes them feel recognized: a place to pause, reflect, and know that their community is still present.

The sculpture takes the form of a large yucca flowering stem. Large-scale beadwork hangs from the stem, and jingles sit inside the bell-shaped flowers. The design draws on a traditional Ute practice of hanging offerings in trees or plants to give back to the spirits and the land, especially before development takes place. These offerings acknowledge relationship and responsibility. They are gestures of respect before change.

Concept

Yucca has long been important to the Ute people. The plant has medicinal properties, its fibrous leaves are used for weaving, and its fruit, flowers, and stalk are edible, providing a food source.

Yucca also shares a symbiotic relationship with the yucca moth, which pollinates the plant. The moth appears as a detail on the sculpture.

Sound is central to the piece. The jingles inside the blooming flowers reflect the belief, held in many Native cultures, that jingles ward off bad spirits.

Chelsea emphasizes that Native people and their teachings are not historical artifacts. They are living practices. Ute people still walk into the mountains to connect with their ancestors, return to places they have heard stories about, and walk the land that shaped their tribes and identities. The sculpture serves as a visible reminder of that continuity: the Ute people are still here, their culture is active, and the mountains continue to hold their stories.