hu·tum kʉle

hu·tum kʉle is an interdisciplinary work combining painting and video as two interconnected parts of the same experience. Together, they explore dreaming as a source of guidance, healing, memory, and spiritual knowledge within Nisenan culture.

“In our culture, we are dreamers, where we learn new languages, and new things through our dreams.”

— Saxon Thomas, Nevada City Rancheria Tribal Council, Member at Large

Developed through dialogue with Nevada City Rancheria Tribal Members, the work reflects stories and shared understandings of dreams as a place where knowledge, warnings, language, and connection can emerge.

The painting depicts two hovering figures above ˀuƀa seo (Yuba River), with ˀestom janim (Marysville Buttes), the Ancestral Homelands of the Nisenan, in the distance. The darker figure suggests the Creator, spirit presence, or contact with the dream world, while the lighter outlined figure — drawn from a photograph of Lorena Davis — represents the dreamer.

Surrounding herbs reference the role of the dreamer, sometimes called the “Knock Down Person,” who returns from dreams carrying knowledge that could help the Tribe: healing plants, migration guidance, or warnings of danger.

“I was once visited by my late husband, John, who came to me in a dream to share a very important part of my future that helped me at a difficult time in my life.”

— Lorena Davis, Nevada City Rancheria Tribal Council

The video expands the work through the voices and presence of Tribal Members, creating a living dialogue between landscape, memory, dreams, and image. Rather than functioning separately, the painting and video inform one another — each revealing dimensions of the other that cannot exist alone.

“I believe that we are visited through our dreams.”

— Cindy Buero, Nevada City Rancheria Tribal Member

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