One day, not so long ago I was startled out of my sleep by the voice of a mourning dove. He landed next to me, weary and fatigued and sat for a few long moments before he turned and said, “I have wandered the breadth of the entire world and this I know: when the earth is trod our feet are wounded by the harshness of the land.”

His words pierced me as I stared, perplexed, at him. I didn’t know who this bird was or where he had been, only that he wore the look of great victory, the kind that comes as a result of great pain.

I sat silent as he reached out his wing and handed me something. It was a tightly wound ball of multi-colored string, I could see pieces of paper secured within the string, indecipherable words written upon them.

As I took the ball, he said to me, “Your exile was meant to destroy you, but here is your story of return.”

He stood up shook off his feathers and he flew away.

Return from Exile: Contemporary Southeastern Indian Art

Return from Exile is a national traveling exhibition featuring 34 well-known Native American artists of Southeastern tribal heritage. Sponsored by the Southeastern Indian Artists Association and the Cherokee Heritage Center, the show will begin its run in Athens, Georgia at the Lyndon House Art Center on August 21, 2015 and will travel through 2017.

For more information visit www.returnfromexile.org