‘Mississippi Dialogues’ with Acclaimed Indigenous Cartographer, Margaret Pearce

Margaret Wickens Pearce, acclaimed Citizen Potawatomi Nation cartographer and 2025 MacArthur fellow, has chosen JDCF’s Casper Bluff Land and Water Reserve to be the site of a large public art panel. The panel, which is part of her Mississippi Dialogues project, will depict through maps, stories, songs and oral history, how indigenous people have interacted with the Mississippi River through time and into the present.

“JDCF is honored and excited to be working with Indigenous cartographer Margaret Pearce on her Mississippi Dialogues Project,” said Steve Barg, JDCF’s Executive Director. “This is one of several collaborative projects where JDCF is partnering with Indigenous Tribes, historians and culture keepers to help us better understand our deep connections and caretaking responsibilities with the land and rivers of the Driftless region.”

The 15.5-foot panel will be one of thirteen Margaret will install along the entire 2,300 mile length of the River from its headwaters in Minnesota to its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. The installation is planned for this October.

On July 10, Margaret, along with Ho-Chunk Nation tribal historian Bill Quackenbush, will present a public program about the project. It will take place at Chestnut Mountain Resort, with a social hour starting at 6 pm, followed by the program from 7 to 8:30. Steve Barg will deliver opening remarks and JDCF’s new CEO, Nathan Aberg, will be on hand to meet those in attendance. Cash bar. Everyone is welcome. Please RSVP to info@jdcf.org.

Apple River State Bank/First Community Bank of Galena is proudly sponsoring this event.