Hannah Claus
Series 4 Episode 2
Encountering the Big River with Hannah Claus
Series 4 Episode 2
Available on all major podcast platforms: click the icons or hit 'play' to listen now.
In this episode, Jerry takes another excursion to meet with Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) and English visual artist, Hannah Claus.
Hannah is in London exhibiting at the High Commission of Canada in the U.K. as part of their commitment to platform Indigenous Canadian artists. Her body of work titled 'tsi iotnekahtentiónhatie - éntie nonkwá:ti' [where the waters flow - south shore] tells the story of the Kahrhionhwa’kó:wa [the Great River, or Saint Lawrence River]. The artwork 'éntie nokwá:ti ne Kaniatarowánen' [water song - south shore] features as her chosen map for this episode: it is a kinetic installation that visualises a sound wave of a water song composed by Ionhiarò:roks McComber.
During this intimate tour of Hannah’s artworks, she tells Jerry about First Nations cosmologies and the importance of having a relationship to the land and bodies of water upon which one resides. Together, they delve into the concept of what constitutes a map, and how artists convey the narratives and collective histories of specific places through their work.
To enjoy a larger images of the artwork while you listen, click the image below:
éntie nokwá:ti ne Kaniatarowánen [water song - south shore] (2024) in situ at the Canada House Gallery in London. Mixed medium, 694 x 364 cm © Hannah Claus
'éntie nokwá:ti ne Kaniatarowánen' [water song - south shore] transcends the familiar European understanding of a map. The artwork is intrinsically linked to the Kahrhionhwa’kó:wa (St. Lawrence River) and more specifically the area known as Flat Rocks.
Its physicality visually reproduces the sound wave of a song composed by Ionhiarò:roks McComber, which thanks and honours the river. This musical accompaniment was produced in collaboration especially for Hannah’s body of work, and you can hear a section of this song at the start and end of the episode.
Digital imagery of the water, land, and sky taken at Flat Rocks have been printed onto a multitude of light reflecting discs and hung from translucent threads. The artwork, which in this instance has been suspended from the Canada Gallery ceiling, undulates through the space, tracing the shape of the southern coastline of the river.
Hannah has been thoughtful in her choice of materials to the fragility of the artwork so as to immerse the viewer. As people move in the space, the installation freely ebbs and flows like water, and the reflective nature of the discs mimic the rippling caustic effect of light dancing on water. She has also chosen visible threads by which to hang the trails of discs so that she can illustrate the vital connection First Nations communities have with the Earth and the sky. These simultaneously draw conceptual inspiration from wampum belts, which are mnemonic devices made to narrate history, traditions, responsibilities and laws. They are traditionally made from beads and shells, woven into belts or jewellery.
Eighteenth-century wampum belt by unknown maker, deriving from the Eastern Woodlands area. M1913. Public Domain, via McCord Stewart Museum.
As well as providing an insight into the work, Hannah shares her knowledge of the language of the Kanien'kehá:ka - itself meaning "People of the Flint". The importance of this is that the people with the flint can make the fire, and in turn provide food and warmth to their community and the people they encounter.
Hannah is a member of Kenhtè:ke (Tyendinaga Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte). Woven into her work as both an artist and a teacher are the ancient Haudenosaunee cosmologies and methodologies of the Onkwehon:we [original people] that highlight ways of understanding the world and their ancestral stories. One aspect integral to Hannah’s practice is her exploration of language, identity, and relationship with the world around her - this is particularly prevalent in this body of work which explores the interconnected ties people have with the area surrounding Tiohtià:ke [the Island of Montréal].
Detail of Kahrhionhwa'kó:wa [water song] (2024) © Hannah Claus
Flat Rocks was once a gathering place for Kahnawakerò:non - a place to congregate, socialise, and access the water, but since the 1950s and the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway - a large commercial shipping route - access to the river has been made increasingly less accessible or cut the community off entirely. Throughout history, Kahrhionhwa’kó:wa (St. Lawrence River), which in Kanien'kehá:ka means ‘big river’, has been the lifeblood of the country - a means of food, transport, and livelihood.
From birth, Kanien’kehá:ka people travelled across the continent, learning the importance of trading and communication, using the stars and rivers to create their own means of navigation, and passing this knowledge down through aural or embodied practices. As Hannah says travel and trade was not just about transactions - they were about ceremony and strong relationships.
© Farah Jemel and Allen's Cruz-Jimenez
This modern map - commissioned by curator Lori Beavis to accompany Hannah's exhibition - locates the four Kanien’kehá:ka communities in purple: Kanehsatà:ke, Kahnawà:ke, Kenhtèke | Tyendinaga, and Ohshwé:ken; and a fifth, Ahkwesàhsne, straddles the border with the U.S.A. Major cities are marked in red, using their European names.
For an understanding of the location of Flat Rocks and its relation to Tiohtià:ke [Montréal], you can also visit the important resource MohawkAtlas.org, and also find a listing of Indigenous place names with their translations here on the Decolonial Atlas.
Centuries of colonial imposition and the development of the St. Lawrence Seaway marginalised the Kanien’kehà:ka. This land was expropriated in 1534 following the arrival of the French. Like many European nations of the time, the French were in search of maritime passage to Asia that avoided existing trade routes to the east - namely those of the Portuguese and Spanish Empires. They too were in pursuit of gold, spices, and other riches that could be transported back to France.
Painting of Jacques Cartier by Francois Riss (1839). Public Domain, via World History Encyclopedia
In the hope of finding this northwest passage to Asia, the French employed Jacques Cartier (c.1491-1557), a Breton navigator to captain this expedition.
During his three maritime voyages between 1534-42, Cartier explored the St. Lawrence River, claiming the territory he encountered for the French nation and taking hostages along his route. He is credited as the first European to map the shores of the River, and naming the territory ‘Canada’ - using the Kanien'kehá:ka name for ‘settlement’, Kaná:ta.
You can find out more about Cartier
here.
One of the earliest maps to depict ‘Canada’ is Gregor Ruysch’s world map (1507) © The Sunderland Collection
Hannah tells Jerry that her role as an artist is to encourage people to engage with the work by creating universal access, and offers deeper layers for people to learn and take meaning from. She shares how maps have influenced her work but that through her recognition of their distortion of territories and perceived ‘truth’, she presents a way of looking at the world that better reflects the ancestral histories of the Kanien'kehá:ka and the world she personally recognises.
Hannah and Lori are co-founders of the non-for-profit arts centre, daphne. A creative network and studio makes a space for contemporary Indigenous artists and creators, and is the first of its kind in Tiohtià:ke. Find out more here.
Jerry and Hannah at Canada Gallery with her artworks water song [Kahrhionhwa'kó:wa] and Landscape of the Land.
We would like to thank Hannah for this enlightening view of her artwork and the intimate tour of her exhibition at Canada House Gallery.
The exhibition 'tsi iotnekahtentiónhatie - éntie nonkwá:ti' [where the waters flow - south shore] runs 12 September 2025 - 24 January 2026. Find out more here.
Oculi Mundi and Whistledown Studios would also like to extend sincere thanks to the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom - in particular Simon Anderson, Caitlin Workman, and the Public Programming Team for the invitations to connect and the support they have provided for this special episode of What's Your Map?.
About Hannah Claus
©Elias Touil
Hannah Claus (member of Kenhtè:ke / Tyendinaga Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte) is a Kanien’kehá:ka and English visual artist who engages Onkwehon:we epistemology to highlight ways of understanding and being in relation with the world.
She attended Ontario College of Art and Design in Tkaronto [Toronto] (1997) and her Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University in Tiohtià:ke [Montreal] (2004). She is a 2019 Eiteljorg Fellow and 2020 recipient of the Prix Giverny, recent exhibitions include Contextile: Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art (Guimarães, Portugal), Ascending Horizons (McMaster Art Museum, Hamilton Ontario) and the North American touring exhibition, Radical Stitch.
Claus’ work is held in public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Eiteljorg Museum, North American Native Museum (Zurich, CH), the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the City of Montreal.
Concurrent with her studio practice, Claus is an Associate Professor in the Department of Studio Arts at Concordia University and holds a Concordia University Research Chair in Onkwehonwené:ha (New Scholar).
She is currently Co-Director of the Indigenous Futures Research Centre at Concordia University and is one of the co-founders of daphne, the Indigenous-led artist-run centre based in Tiohtià:ke.
Why not continue your exploration of the wonderful world of maps by subscribing to the podcast? That way you will never miss an episode.
Feel free to let us know - What's YOUR Map?!
