History
A timeline of monumental works, exhibitions, lectures, and community collaborations.
Featured Installation
Erected during the NO DAPL water protector gathering in 2016, this eight-foot reinforced concrete sculpture remains the only physical evidence of the ten-month gathering at Sacred Stone Camp on the Missouri River.
When the government dismantled the camps with heavy machinery, the sculpture was left standing — a testament to the resilient spirit of a people who walked this land for over ten thousand years.
Complete Timeline
Park Rapids, Minnesota — Permanent installation of a four-foot replica of “Not Afraid to Look” with opening ceremony, drum group honor song, and community festivities. Collaboration with the City of Park Rapids Arts & Culture Advisory Commission.
Lecture at the University of Minnesota Duluth with Alicia Rencountre-Da Silva on monument building, community engagement, and how sculpture becomes a vehicle for social change. Included discussions about building a third monument to face the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline.
Wet plate collodion portrait by photographer Shane Balkowitsch for the “Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective” series. 8x10" black glass ambrotype in the historic process of pure silver on glass, featuring Charles with a maquette of “Not Afraid to Look.”
Erected the second “Not Afraid to Look” during the NO DAPL resistance. The eight-foot concrete and rebar sculpture remains the only physical evidence of the gathering of Water Protectors from nations around the world at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers.
First installation of “Not Afraid to Look” at IAIA. Charles graduated top of his class from the sculpture program. The work evolved from a series of effigy pipes with roots stretching back to the 17th century.
Major sculptural works: “Yaqui Christ” in bronze (5' x 3') and “Lakota Madonna” in juniper (3'). Both works explore the intersection of Indigenous identity and sacred Christian imagery through a Lakota lens.
Bronze sculpture on alabaster base depicting a dynamic Lakota figure in motion. One of the signature works from Rencountre's early career in cast bronze.
Collaboration with Ledger artist Dwayne Wilcox (Oglala Sioux). A joint curation of sculpture and Ledger art addressing the impact of alcohol and drug abuse on traditional Lakota ceremonies. Supported by NEFA (New England Foundation for the Arts).