The Hesutin Waterfall
Unique cast bronze by Judith & Daniel Caldwell
The Hesutin Waterfall greets visitors to the main entrance of the Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center. Designed in collaboration with GGLO Architects, the installation draws attention to the difficult legacy of land appropriation from Native populations. The large black circle on the wall represents the original Niimíípu (Nez Perce) homeland in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The round opening in the wall above the water feature represents the reduction of land as a result of the Treaty of 1855 and the 6” circle at the top of the water feature represents the greatly reduced current reservation land from the subsequent Treaty of 1863. WSU and the Cultural Center itself are built on land originally inhabited by the Niimíípu.
The water feature is comprised of 39 unique bronze castings, welded and fitted together to form a 100” tall watercourse, flanked by bronze ‘basalt’ columns, and scaled by five endangered Lamprey fish. A coordinating unique cast bronze grating was created by the artists for the base of the water feature.