Statement

Before I talk about my piece, I'd like to say a couple of things in response to Mary Ann, gratitude for sharing the context to your piece, Mary Ann. It is incredibly powerful painting. And I think I understand now a bit better where its power comes from. The irony and the cynicism that is expressed in the Hudson Bay blanket and the act of spreading smallpox through the agency of that is, I think, part of the power of the piece. But, the thing that absolutely transfixed me, was the expression in the eyes. There's a profound sadness. There's a sense of outrage. And there's also a defiance. But frankly, words fail me in terms of describing how that expression affects me and the absence of eyes in the other figure, I think just enhances that impact. So not surprisingly then, my piece is mainly about eyes.

The direct gaze talks to the obvious stuff that we know. That there's a need for practical compensation. There's a need for financial compensation in response to the history. Things like drinkable water, livable homes, ownership of land. That's going to take money to fix, and it's pretty obvious what needs fixing that what it is going to take to fix it so that is represented by eyes wide open.

The downward gaze of humility. I chose to talk to things that need changing that are complicated, systemic, relational, that are not just going to be fixed by money. I'm thinking of things like getting rid of the Indian Act. Allowing self governance around issues of education and health care. It is for complex, systemic issues that take a lot of patience and humility to fix. Issues of soul, issues of deep personal wounding. In order to heal those deep intergenerational impacts from the horrendous things that have been done to First Nations, Indigenous peoples, imagination and soul are required. The antidotes to those.

I'm so gratified to hear so many of the elders today speaking about the power of imagination. Austin Clarkson represented that within this community and I think it can be very helpful. At one point, I had some white crosses in the background of the painting, and I thought you know what? They really don't belong there, I'm going to put a question mark in its place. This happened at the time of discovery of more buried children. The question mark relates to; why and where. Those basic questions.

Miigwech.