Dripping Earth: Cannupa Hanska Luger

The artist’s vision of a vibrant Indigenous future, interpreted through his work

This impressive volume offers a dynamic view of new work by acclaimed artist Cannupa Hanska Luger (b. 1979). Born on the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota, Luger is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold and is Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, and Lakota. His deep ties to the northern Plains ground his vision for a vibrant Indigenous future, animated by ceramics, video, and repurposed materials.

Luger’s innovative approach engages The Joslyn’s renowned collection of watercolors painted by Swiss artist Karl Bodmer during his 1833–34 journey along the Missouri River. Through monumental ceramics, immersive video projections, and life-size bison dancers called Midéegaadi, the artist reimagines Bodmer’s depictions of his ancestors and situates these works within landscapes now submerged by colonial damming projects.

Dripping Earth invites a shared vision of the future where land, identity, and culture are reclaimed and revitalized. The lead essay contextualizes Luger’s project and its revelatory perspective on cultural fluidity. A conversation between Luger and knowledge bearer Michael Barthelemy reveals affinities between Luger’s art and Indigenous stories. Throughout the illustrated catalog short interpretive essays provide diverse insights into Luger’s multifaceted work.