biota Landscapes permanent hardscape art installation in collaboration with Native American Artists at the Weisman Art Museum is now open to the public.

Some landscape projects begin with a site plan. Others begin with a story, one rooted in the land, the water, and the generations of knowledge that connect them. 

At the Weisman Art Museum, biota Landscapes had the honor of helping bring an especially meaningful project to life: a permanent outdoor installation by Native American artists Natchez Beaulieu and Marlena Myles, created as part of Merciless: Indigenous Lands Since 1776 at the Weisman Art Museum on the University of Minnesota campus. 

Situated alongside Wakpá Tháŋka, the Mississippi River, the installation brings together art, landscape, and Indigenous teachings in a place that invites visitors to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the world around them. Through intricate pavement design, sculptural metal panels, and limestone seating, the artists have created an outdoor space where the landscape itself becomes part of the story. 

For our team, the project was an opportunity to contribute our craft to a larger artistic vision, working in collaboration with the Weisman Art Museum and the artists to translate their designs into a lasting part of the site. 

A Landscape Rooted in Anishinaabe Star Knowledge 

Designed by Natchez Beaulieu, a citizen of the White Earth Nation and gifted mosaic artist, Ojichaagobiishin (Reflection in Water) features an intricate pattern composed of dry-cast concrete pavers. We were proud to help bring the piece to life as the installer.  

“Thoughtful, art-driven installations are some of our favorite projects, where craftsmanship and creativity meet in the landscape. Natchez Beaulieu and Marlena Myles took the time to share the meaning behind their work, which helped us understand the vision we were helping to realize.” – Steve Modrow, co-founder of biota Landscapes 

Inspired by traditional Anishinaabe star knowledge, the medicine wheel, and the relationship between celestial and terrestrial worlds, the design weaves together patterns and symbols that carry meaning across generations. 

At the center of the loom-inspired composition is an eight-point star, representing hope and guidance for future generations. Elsewhere, seven stars arranged along a curved path represent the Sweat Lodge constellation, also known as Corona Borealis, connecting the design to ceremony, purification, and introspection. 

These elements reflect an enduring spiritual and physical relationship with the living world. As Beaulieu shared during the artist-led tour on opening day, the installation encourages visitors to take time with the imagery, consider the meanings behind it, and carry those reflections outward into the world. 

The pavement is not simply a decorative surface. It is an invitation to engage more deeply with the place beneath our feet. 

From Digital Design to Hand-Cut Pavers 

Bringing Beaulieu’s intricate design into physical form required precision, patience, and craftsmanship. Our team translated the digital artwork into an arrangement of individual dry-cast concrete pavers, hand-cutting and assembling each piece to faithfully recreate the complex pattern on the ground. Every angle, curve, and transition mattered, with the goal of preserving the integrity of the original design while creating a durable, lasting feature within the landscape. The result is a walkable work of art that reveals itself at different scales: a unified composition from above and a rich collection of shapes and details when experienced up close. 

For biota, this is where landscape craftsmanship meets storytelling. Our role was to help realize the artist’s vision through the materials, construction techniques, and precision required to bring it to life. Beaulieu’s intention extends beyond the physical design, inviting each visitor to consider what the imagery means and how those reflections might influence the world around them. 

“You stand here, you take time, and you absorb the imagery and learn the meaning of the things behind it. And you make the world a better place.” – Natchez Beaulieu 

Connecting Land, Water, Stars, and Ancestors 

The pavement is one part of a larger outdoor installation created with Marlena Myles’ work, Ancestral Currents: From Bdóte to the Stars. 

Myles, a Dakota artist, creates work that helps people understand Dakota relationships with their homelands. For this installation, she developed a series of sculptural metal panels that explore interconnected teachings of origin, ancestry, and the natural world. The work draws on three central teachings: Wáǧačhaŋ, the Cottonwood Tree of Life; Šičúŋ and Kapémni, spiritual gifts and the mirroring of worlds; and Bdóte, the sacred confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, understood as a place of first breath. 

A Collaboration Shaped by Place 

One of the most meaningful aspects of this project is the relationship between the two artists’ works and the landscape that surrounds them. Beaulieu’s pavement and Myles’ sculptural panels approach Indigenous teachings through different artistic forms, yet both draw connections between the worlds above and below, the natural environment, and the knowledge carried forward through generations. 

Their collaboration also reflects a broader purpose of Merciless: Indigenous Lands Since 1776: bringing Indigenous histories and contemporary Native art into a place where those stories deserve to be seen, experienced, and understood. 

During the opening-day tour, curator Dr. Kendra Greendeer spoke about the significance of Indigenous artists creating work connected to their ancestral homelands. The outdoor installation establishes a lasting presence for these artists and their teachings, inviting the University of Minnesota community and the wider public to engage with Dakota and Anishinaabe relationships to this place. 

For biota, contributing to this project meant more than building a patio or installing landscape elements. It meant listening carefully, working collaboratively, and bringing specialized craftsmanship to an artistic vision with cultural significance. 

We are grateful to the Weisman Art Museum for choosing biota to help bring this project to life, and to Natchez Beaulieu and Marlena Myles for the opportunity to contribute to their work. We also recognize the many collaborators whose expertise helped make the installation possible. 

The finished space is a reminder that landscapes can do more than shape how we experience the outdoors. They can create opportunities to learn, reflect, gather, and connect with the stories of a place. 

Experience Merciless: Indigenous Lands Since 1776 

The outdoor installation is now a permanent part of the Weisman Art Museum grounds, offering visitors an opportunity to experience Beaulieu’s Ojichaagobiishin (Reflection in Water) and Myles’ Ancestral Currents: From Bdóte to the Stars alongside the Mississippi River. 

The broader exhibition, Merciless: Indigenous Lands Since 1776, is on view at the Weisman Art Museum through May 23, 2027. Visitors can explore additional works by participating Native artists and engage with the histories, perspectives, and contemporary creative practices that shape the exhibition. 

We invite you to visit, spend time with the installations, and experience the ways art and landscape can deepen our connection to place. 

Learn more about Merciless: Indigenous Lands Since 1776 at the Weisman Art Museum.