Statement

When we think about Truth and Reconciliation the first narratives that come to mind are directly connected to residential schools and the notion of cultural genocide. Collectively, we can recognize that the Truth and Reconciliation commission is about establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people through acknowledgement of the past and the ability to take action to heal our nations and prepare for a better future. For me, the idea of learning from our past to restore the future encompasses Indigenous futurisms, Indigenous feminism, and the 7 Generations teaching. The trauma that has been inflicted ripples through our nations; the intergenerational effects are very present, through our loss of languages; the violence that is directed at our sisters as the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women continues to grow; and the sense of hopelessness within our youth that causes them to rationalize that suicide is the only answer.

These, among countless other things, are the repercussions of cultural genocide and we are at a point in our society where it is time to seek unity and work together to heal.

For my response to this project, I zoned in on the concept of cultural excavation, which was very evident in the piece that Peter Adams created. I thought about how we are not above nature, rather we are a part of it. Humans have disrespected our mother earth through the excavation and ownership of the land. I remember watching a video of Lee Maracle in 2012 wherein she discusses the fact that violence against the land is directly related to the violence that is happening against our women through a disconnection from ancient knowledge and blood memory; the settlers who came to this continent have been disconnected from their traditional landscapes and through assimilation tactics, have attempted to sever our connections as well. It will be integral to our future that we reestablish our relationship with the land and our teachings.

According to Diné writer Lindsey Catherine Cornum, Indigenous Futurism is a movement that continuously rehashes narratives of 'the final frontier,' and explores the notion of bringing our traditions with us into the future instead of leaving them in the past.

My piece depicts a fancy shawl dancer praying in front of smokestacks, the pollution floating up into a starry sky. This image directly plays into Indigenous futurism and our seven generations teaching because we must consider how our actions now are going to affect the generations to come; we are borrowing this land from our children. The beaded glyphs floating through the sky symbolize a language that I do not have as a result of Canada’s assimilation tactics.

The beaded glyphs are fragments of visual language that reference wampum belts, syllabics and petroglyphs: pieces of visual language that have served as stories and treaties. The glyphs are nonsensical but they imply that they hold meaning; they convince the viewer that they should mean something and create tension and frustration between the work and viewer, to emulate the frustration that many Indigenous nations feel who aren’t able to speak their traditional languages.

It is integral to our healing journey and our future that we reclaim our relationship to the land, our culture and our language.— Chi miigwech.