Walking as Remapping: Seeding Relations with Sheri Osden Nault

Join artist Sheri Osden Nault in a procession to Nokom’s House, a new land-based research lab located within the Arboretum at the U of G. On Tuesday, October 20 at 5:30 pm, visitors are invited to join artist Sheri Osden Nault in a procession to Nokom’s House, a new land-based research lab located within the Arboretum at the University of Guelph. There, Nault will offer a bison skull made of clay, soil, and seeds to the land and speak about the creative investigations and relationships that led to its creation. Nault first cast a seeded bison skull while spending time at Batoche National Historic Site in Saskatchewan. Learning about the reintroduction of a young bison herd to the site, they began to consider how art might participate in processes of renewal, proposing a temporary sculpture that could ultimately return itself to the land. Emerging from Métis kitchen table methodologies and community exchange, the work explores how art and making are interwoven with cycles of land and life. As the sculpture gradually breaks down into its component materials of earth and clay, the seeds of medicines and plants germinate, grow, are eaten and dispersed by wildlife, and more—pointing to how materials might contribute to ecological renewal while questioning conventional ideas of monumentality in sculpture. About the Facilitator Sheri Osden Nault is a Two-Spirit Métis artist, Indigenous tattoo practitioner, community worker, and Assistant Professor in Studio Arts at Western University. They explore embodied connections between human and more-than-human beings, land-based relationships, and kinship sensibilities through an Indigenous Futurist framework. Their work spans sculpture, performance, installation, and other media, integrating cultural, social, and experimental creative processes. Meeting Location Meet in University of Guelph lot P18 on Dundas Lane, off College Avenue East. Nokom’s House Research Centre is located on the edge of the Arboretum on the University of Guelph campus, near the Guelph Centre for Organic Farming. Accessibility This event will involve walking on paved walkways as well as uneven dirt and grassy paths. Please dress for the weather, as the program will take place outdoors and run rain or shine. Formal seating will not be readily available, so participants are encouraged to bring a blanket or folding chair if they wish to sit. Washrooms are available at Nokom’s House, a short walk from where the group will gather. Please contact [email protected] if you have questions or if there is anything we can do to support your participation. Image details: Sheri Osden Nault, Seeded Bison Skull 03 (Mohkinstsis day 1), 2025, clay, soil, native seeds. Photo courtesy of the artist