Pe’amen: an ‘extinct’ language

CHIRP was selected to participate in the local Art in Storefronts program, through which we created five large art pieces addressing the erasure of the Nisenan and their language. Pe’amen means “don’t speak”. The Indian Boarding Schools were created to “kill the Indian and save the man” and they successfully “civilized” generations of Native people; successfully breaking that which previously could not be broken….their Ancient Culture. Shelly Covert brought together several artists from CHIRP’s Visibility Through Art initiative to help her actualize and implement her vision. Inspired by Teighlor Renee's watercolor series 'Look Around' created for the 2019 Visibility Through Art show, and with help from Ruth Chase, Mira Clark and Dani Joy, Pe’amen was realized and installed in the windows of the Alpha Building in Downtown Nevada City. To help the viewer understand what they are seeing, an audio piece complements the installation.

Pe’amen stands as witness to the fact that the Nisenan language is not extinct. Language is reflective of the Culture, the people, the landscape and all who inhabit a place. As the Nisenan become “unerased”, so too does the Nisenan language.

What is “Art in Storefronts”?

In response to the economic downtown resulting from the COVID-19 public health crisis, Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District, led by Nevada County Arts Council and its partners, is once again stepping up, showing our community how vital and exciting the role of artists is when working in partnership with businesses. Learn more here.

From September 2020 onwards, artists and artist teams are partnering with local property and business owners to place site-responsive, temporary art installations that stir the imagination and remind us what great downtown areas we have.

Installations will be shown in storefront windows that are vacant and, depending upon the property, will be on display for varying lengths of time in downtown Grass Valley and Nevada City, from September – December 2020.