Statement

The sage in the medicine box started me thinking about the women on my father’s side, especially my grandmother, who used sage to make a rinse for the hair. I found the Sinus Cure in a book of handwritten recipes amongst Aunt Muriel’s things from the old Luck farm at Crown Hill, Ontario. Some of the recipes like this one are clearly very old, perhaps copied from her mother’s or grandmother’s cookbooks, although I think this actual page was written by her in the 1920s. Bloodroot, native to Northeast North America, is used traditionally in many ways, including a beautiful dye and several kinds of remedies. Bloodroot was at our old house, and I remember the colour of the sap on my hands if I pulled it up. This cure may have been shared amongst the settlers, but its original source must be from Indigenous knowledge. My work refers to the devaluing and loss of that knowledge and skill. The scratched-in cursive writing and lines could indicate a schoolbook or a chalkboard. Dark splatters in the sky make me think of ink. The paper fringe was inspired by the fringes on the shawls of Fancy Shawl Dancers.

I wanted to have something in my work that would move, and since the Fancy Shawl Dance suggests transformation the fringe seems an apt metaphor for the movement needed away from the intransigent positions taken by many. Finally, the night sky and narrow strip of green at the bottom of the panel refer to a dream my sister had at age ten, a powerful dream that stayed with her through her life. Standing at the edge of the world looking into the night sky, she felt exhilarated. She later interpreted this as looking forward to an exciting future, a hope all children are surely entitled to.

Sadly I read another headline of suicides in a Native community.