The Six Grandfather, or Thu?k??ila ??kpe, is a sacred mountain to the Lakota people, as the birthplace of the Lakota as human beings. The mountain was defiled in an act of intentional settler colonial violence, carving the faces of our ancestors? killers on land that was illegally taken from the Sioux Nations in a violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie that still has not been rectified.

This drawing is a tribute to the grandfathers who truly fought for justice. Using digital drawing tools to mimic the texture and color of the mountain, I imagined what it might look like to replace the faces of imperial domination and brutality with faces of ancestors who protected the land and people. Someday, the faces of Thu?k??ila ??kpe will be washed clean, and the land will be healed.

No AI was used for this design.