Teyethinonhwera:ton

Kiertzner’s landscape photographs resonate with the ethos of the Ohenten Kariwatekwen, often referred to as the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address but more accurately translated as “the words spoken before all others.” This phrase underscores the foundational role of gratitude and acknowledgment in Haudenosaunee worldviews, where expressions of thanks to the natural world precede all other discourse. Kiertzner’s visual compositions similarly prioritize the land, offering a visual “speaking before all else” that centers ecological presence and Indigenous relationships with place. Her images, draw the viewer’s attention to the animate qualities of water, sky, flora, and terrain—echoing the Address’s structure, which names and honors each element of creation. By presenting the landscape as a subject worthy of reverence underscoring the ancestral relationships to land, Kiertzner’s work aligns with the philosophical underpinnings of the Ohenten Kariwatekwen, making her photography not just a reflection of the land, but a reminder of factors that perpetuate ecological and cultural loss.