Hearts Project

Displaced from my ancestral homelands in what is now Eastern Turkey, I now live and work on the unceded homelands of the Abenaki people. I commit to building a future that repairs the wounds of settler colonialism and honor the Abenaki elders of the past, present, and future, the stewards of this land.
This heart shape was made from ramps, the sacred Abenaki green, the first wild green to appear at the end of a long Vermont winter. It was one of many hearts that I assembled during lockdown from natural materials, most often left in the woods near my home, to remind anybody who saw one of them to listen and act with love. These particular ramps came inside and made their way into dinner that night.
I’ve assembled note cards with photographs of some of these hearts and have gifted them to organizations to use as they like in their own missions. As in ancient gift economies, by staying in motion, they amplify and connect us. SUSU CommUNITY Farm, for example, included packets of cards in their CSA shares. Please contact me if you would like a gift of cards to further your mission. Cards also support the Ndakinna Education Center.