Caddo potter Chase Kahwinhut Earles knows how important his craft is to his heritage, but sometimes he’s struck by the weight of the responsibility he’s taken on. He once heard of a top tribal elder, wheelchair-bound in his 90s, who was struck by emotion after seeing ancient Caddo pottery on display and learning of the rich pottery history of the tribe for the first time.
“He started crying. He was like, ‘I can’t believe I don’t know anything about this,’” said Earles, 48, from his home in Chickasaw Nation in southern Oklahoma. Earles is continuing to keep this tribal tradition alive with three new pieces soon to be revealed at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Two years ago, Earles’ “monumental” 46-inch-long young alligator gar fish pottery work at the DMA, accessioned in 2020, was destroyed in an overnight break-in. The tribe lost a crucial piece of representation when the work was demolished.
“It was a masterwork for me. I won’t be able to produce another piece like that again. Maybe by the grace of God,” Earles said.
Following the break-in, the museum commissioned Earles to create three new pieces. Agustín Arteaga, the DMA Eugene McDermott Director, said in an email that this new work has helped end a “challenging chapter.”
The Caddo, a once-prominent confederacy of tribes in East Texas considered “as formidable” as the Cherokee and Chickasaw, were decimated to near extinction by illness, famine and colonial ravaging starting in the 1600s, Earles said. At the height of Caddo civilization in 1300, it was the most advanced Native American culture in Texas, numbering over 200,000 people. In the 1873 census, only 401 Caddos were recorded in the state of Texas, which is reportedly named after the Caddo word “taysha,” meaning “friend.” Earles said the Spaniards began referring to the region as “Tejas” based on overhearing the Caddo word.
”When one person dies, so much knowledge is lost,” Earles said. This knowledge included the prolific ancient tradition of pottery, which Earles said is likely one of the oldest traditions on the North American continent, preceding the Aztecs and Mayas.
Today, there are roughly 7,000 Caddos, though few know about their tribe’s history regarding the tradition of pottery, said Earles.
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Earles, who knew he wanted to be a professional artist since high school, said that when he found Caddo pottery in his 30s after a lucrative but “expressionless” profession of web designing for 10 years, the connection “was just so strongly obvious. Like this is the point of [my] whole existence.”
Growing up, Earles said, he doodled when he was nervous or bored. Art provided relief.
“Artists are emotional. And I’m a guy. And that doesn’t gel with Oklahoma and masculinity. And it was rough. I got called all kinds of nasty stuff that I won’t repeat. And being Indian on top of it, right? There was a lot of racism,” Earles said.
For Earles, a second initiative incidentally emerged as he attempted to salvage the ancient Caddo pottery tradition. Through his work, Earles is a sort of representative at-large for Caddo civilization and their history, educating about Caddos to people who had never heard of them. As his work gains popularity, so does outside interest in the tribe. It’s up to Earles to make the introduction, and in many ways shoulder his tribe’s existence in the public eye.
“If you’re a Native artist, and put yourself out there in any form, you are now an ambassador for the tribe. And you can’t help it. So you better know what you’re talking about. And you better have a lot of respect. You’re not just making pots to make a living,” said Earles. Every piece he creates is a record of current Caddo history.
While self-promotion can be uncomfortable for many, Earles said Native cultural values foster a particular aversion. Earles raises three contravening Native principals. “Watch how much information you’re giving away. Because information is earned [within our tribe]. Don’t boast. Don’t do stuff for yourself.”
The detriment, though, is that people will continue to know little about Caddos. “Just like before,” said Earles. Evading self-promotion is no longer “feasible.”
“We’re poor. We have nothing.” Caddos don’t have casinos that larger tribes have to support themselves, said Earles.
“I’ve been overwhelmed to the point of breaking because there’s so much that I have to do,” Earles said of interview requests and speaking publicly. “And there’s no one else to do it.” Turning down opportunities to speak about his art and, in turn, about Caddo history is a missed opportunity not only for Earles, but also for the tribe, he said.
In one of the three pieces the museum commissioned Earles to create, a coyote perches on top of an alligator in the river. In another, a bear mounts the back of an alligator snapping turtle. The main, third work is a 3-foot-long alligator gar fish, roughly a foot shorter than the initial piece. The gar is a Caddo-revered animal and one of the largest freshwater fish in North America. A Caddo village is settled on the fish’s back.
Earles is also writing a book set to release next year called The River People. The three works he produced illustrate the book’s story, which is centered around the gar fish.
Earles also implemented parts of the earlier museum piece in his three new works, following a Caddo tradition of grinding up older pottery to be used as temper in the new pieces.
Arteaga said in a statement, “Incorporating fragments of the original Gar that was tragically destroyed in the break-in two years ago, this piece makes a poetic statement about rebirth, resilience, and perseverance.”
Like traditional Caddo pottery, Earles’ pieces are lightweight and “eggshell thin.” The clay material, which Earles collects himself with his family after macheting their way down to the river bank, is dug from the Red River inside the Caddo homeland and mixed with crushed mussel shells, which they hand-collect. Baked in an open fire, the clay pieces dry like concrete, said Earles. Pottery is engraved after firing, and hand-burnished with a river rock until shiny.
Dr. Michelle Rich, an associate curator of Indigenous American Art at the DMA, said, “It’s just really wonderful to highlight this mixture of traditional technique that he works with alongside the production of contemporary art.” Rich said she felt it was important for the museum but also “for me personally … to get his work back into the collection.”
Earles’ work will be installed on the fourth floor Atrium Overlook outside of the Indigenous American Art galleries. The high-visibility area also features artworks from the IAA collection. The three pieces will be installed the week of June 17, and on view by June 22.
The Dallas Museum of Art was one of the earliest encyclopedic, global museums to show Earles’ work, which is also in over 30 museums. Earles said his work is especially important to showcase in Texas, where the Caddos are indigenous.
“When I was growing up, there wasn’t a single contemporary piece of Caddo art to see,” said Earles. It’s important that “museums in the state show that Caddos are still here, and still alive, and still producing art. It also goes a long way for a large museum and important institution like the DMA to represent the small and almost lost Caddo culture.”
