43003573-01
Sikitso Aki Tanya Loftus nee Scalplock
mixed media
2020
The cultural significance of my art…
If I am to survive, I must learn the ways and teachings of my ancestors, keeping them close to heart while keeping the balance in my life and my surroundings outside my community. Traditional Knowledge collides with the contemporary and/or mainstream world, and it is my purpose to connect both of these worlds to heal not only myself, but all others who call for healing.
Growing up in a world destitute of purpose and meaning meant struggling with my own identity. Without the Traditional Knowledge my ancestors set out for future generations, I found myself displaced in a society of mixed interpretations of our history. In order to ground myself and build a strong foundation, I needed to look into the history of my parents and grandparents, into the history of my ancestors and within myself. Parts of this journey lead me to places I never thought I would end up. I've learned so much in the past five years that I feel my expedition has only begun, and I am but a little child in a universe filled with vast knowledge, only to be absorbed and expelled onto the rest of the world.
Working within the limitations of virtual art-sharing, I have tried to capture the importance of each item that has contributed to my identity. Regardless of space, time, area or mass, each item was chosen with purpose and meaning. To me, these go hand in hand with pride and culture. During this process of expressing myself, whether physically, emotionally, mentally and/or spiritually, each element of the chosen items has been intertwined with some of these teachings. Each ray of light was strategically placed to incorporate a hidden yet powerful message.
Within each frame, I chose items that would not only speak to the audience, but also share the knowledge that each item held. They embody the wisdom our ancestors laid before us. Part of my creation process meant delving through a painful past of loss and annihilation, feelings that emanate through some of my previous pieces. I do not wish to only showcase adversity, but rather reveal a legacy critical to Nitsitapi, because we are.......
RESILIENT
About Sikitso Aki Tanya Loftus nee Scalplock
Calgary-based self-taught artist, Sikitso Aki Tanya Loftus nee Scalplock, is a Blackfoot member of the Siksika Nation #147. Since 2016, she has embarked on a journey of self-realization and purpose. Connecting with her cultural heritage and roots have increased her vitality and unleashed a desire to acquire the traditional knowledge and teachings of her ancestors. Her first experience as an artist was in 2020 at the University of Lethbridge, where she enrolled in an Indigenous Art course. It was the recent passing of her eldest child, in the summer of 2018, that brought her to realize she wanted to pursue a career in a field that allows her to help the younger generations with their healing, and to be part of addiction prevention.
Métis sash is a symbol of nationhood, cultural distinction, pride, and identity. Each color has a meaning. Red is for the blood that was shed through the years while fighting for rights. Blue is for the depth of our spirits. Green is for the fertility of a great nation. White is for the connection to the earth and Creator. Yellow is for the prospect of prosperity. Black is for the dark period of the suppression of people and dispossession of land.
Sweetgrass is one of the sacred medicines used in prayer, smudging and in ceremony. The smoke from burning dried, braided sweet grass draws in positive energy whilst clearing the negative, purifying us. The smoldering smoke carries our prayers, thoughts and wishes up to Creator.
Medicine wheel is the sacred hoop; a circle of awareness of the individual self which holds knowledge that represents the balance of the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual realities. The medicine wheel represents the interconnectivity of all the aspects of one’s being, including the connection with the natural world. Eagle feathers are a symbol of honour, displaying dignity and pride that symbolize what is highest, bravest, strongest, and holiest.
Bow and arrow was a complex technology essential for the survival of Indigenous people, both for hunting and making war. Each element of the bow, arrows and the quiver were comprised of raw materials. It was a fearsome weapon; this powerful missile of velocity provided a higher degree of deadly accuracy and greater mobility, allowing the warrior hunter more chances to strike at prey.
Sage is another sacred medicine used for ceremony, which holds teachings that offer strength, wisdom, and clarity of purpose. Sage cleanses our eyes to see the truth around us, our mouth so that all we speak will be truthful, our ears to hear the spiritual truths given to us by Creator, our hearts so they will feel the truth, our feet to seek to walk the true path. All of these we cleanse to seek balance and harmony, to lead us closer to our families, friends and community, to walk closer to our loved ones and help us flee our enemies, and most importantly, to lead us closer to our Creator.
Medicine pipe, the greatest spiritual power, is an essential key in ceremony. By smoking the holy pipe, you are bound by truth. The pipe ceremony is a sacred ritual for connecting physical and spiritual worlds. The pipe is a link between the earth and the sky that invokes a relationship with the energies of the universe, and ultimately the Creator. This bond made between earthly and spiritual realms is not to be broken.
Teepee is our sacred dwelling that holds traditional teachings within each element of the structure. The door faces East to allow morning prayers to travel toward the rising sun. The four main poles are the embodiment of the four realities: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. The remaining support poles ensures a strong lodge, representing values of obedience, respect, humility, happiness, love, faith, kinship, cleanliness, thankfulness, sharing, strength, good child-rearing, hope, ultimate protection. Controls flaps create harmony in the circle of life. The designs connect us with the Spirit Beings in the world around us, the painted area around the bottom symbolize the earth's surface that pays spiritual tribute to the importance of Mother Earth as the source of all physical life. The painted top represents the upper limit of the physical world, symbolizing Father Sky.
Drum, the heartbeat of Mother Earth, is a constant reminder of our responsibility towards Mother Earth. The beating of the drum helps us listen to our soul so that we can understand our purpose and our connection to each other in the Circle of Life. It is a powerful non-verbal form of peaceful communication, to release tension, emotional stress, and mental fatigue. There is a synchronization of energy, a unity, and a common purpose when the drum is used.
Kiitokiiksi
2020
Animal hides (elk & deer), beads, synthetic hair, shells, cotton fabrics, feathers, jean material, horsehair, brass studs, bells, leather, craft filler, sweetgrass, sage, cedar, and tobacco. Wood, acrylic paint, and metal rods for the stands.
Kiitokiiksi mean “prairie chickens” in Blackfoot. I chose this name because in the process of making the pieces I thought about my own children. To clarify, my children are a part of the Prairie Chicken family. In the beginning stages, my idea was to imagine how my people may be perceived by non-indigenous and how we are interpreted in history. I’ve now transitioned into the concept of having each doll represent a certain era in time.
Each doll is made from a white cotton fabric similar to a thin animal hide texture, stuffed with craft filler and spiritual medicines such as sweetgrass and sage. My children and I smudge and pray with the dolls as often as we can as I’ve considered them protectors and have immense affection for them.
I’ve also added a mask to each doll to protect them while they are away from home.
The first doll represents my oldest child, Scott. Styled in a “buckskin” shirt and pants, this doll shows an 1800’s design with its top knot hair style and plain work shirt. I used this look to symbolize how my people were seen in the beginning of settler contact.
The second doll represents my middle child, Kenneth. This doll shows a chicken dancer in full regalia. I wanted a more traditional look with the exception of a few contemporary touches. Chicken dancing originates from the Blackfoot people and started as a spiritual society, the Kiikokii society. My idea was to show how we come together through song and dance, apart from ceremonial song and dance. This style of wear shows from settler contact to present day.
The third doll represents my youngest son, Jory. He’s shown in an urban styled ensemble from his matching shirt and shoes to his jean pants. This doll shows how we may dress and conform to society norms, but we have and do certain things that display our cultural independence.
Miisstamiiwa
2020
Deer hide, stiff felt, seed beads, brass studs, faux elk teeth, red jasper, and turquoise
“It could be anyone”, this is the meaning of Miisstamiiwa in Blackfoot. I thought this was a fitting title for my piece. My identity has been shaped by the pandemic, just as most of ours have, with the added accessory: a mask. As part of my new identity, I wanted to include what is important to me, my children. This layout was inspired by tipi designs I was researching. The top of the mask shows the morning star, usually painted on the top of tipis. The morning star is the brightest star at dawn. We used the stars and constellations as navigation tools and a symbol of hope and guidance. The red lines at the top represent rainbows and sky spirits. The smooth line at the bottom displays the plains and prairies, where my people’s original territory extends to. I used the colors of the medicine wheel to outline myself and my children and to also represent the four directions. My eldest in red, myself in black, my middle child in yellow, and my youngest in white. And I used brass studs, faux elk teeth, and stones for a personal touch on my own design.
About Danielle Tailfeathers
Danielle Tailfeathers is a Blackfoot mother of three, from the Kainaiwa First Nation. She currently resides in Lethbridge, Alberta while attending the University of Lethbridge to pursue a career in Social Work. Primarily, Danielle has been beading and sewing mainly for beadwork and regalia purposes for over a decade, with casual work in painting and sculpting. She finds herself drawn to working with traditional aesthetics and incorporating family symbols into her pieces.
A Sonder Illumination
2020
Cold-pressed water colour paper, Winsor and Newton professional watercolours, watercolour pencils, gauche, glass seed beads, wax, cotton muslin, organza
A Sonder Illumination draws from my own experiences in reclaiming my family’s Métis identity, commenting on the loss of our cultural identity and its re-emergence following the passing of my Grandfather. In the years following his death, I began to realize how much our family had truly lost. His passing had resulted in any knowledge, experiences, family history, and wisdom he carried being lost. The subject of this work is based on a candid photo taken of my Grandfather several years ago. I felt the lighting, and neutral muted colours invoked a powerful emotion, one hard to convey in simple words. The closest I could come to describing it is the aching familiarity and nostalgia of a time. This is similar to the feelings experienced when out in nature at evening, and it feels as though the world takes a breath with the end of the day’s hours. I wanted to convey that in this painting.
Several things had to be considered during the process of the painting’s construction. I had a desire to include traditional Métis beadwork, an artform I knew some of my ancestors had practiced. As I had only recently begun learning traditional beadwork, I wanted to contact a Métis elder to learn about traditional designs. My concern was the possibility of accidentally copying a sacred beading pattern or one that belonged to a particular family. When I started reaching out to different sources, I knew the possibility of contacting an elder might be challenging. This proved to be the case when a week and a half went by, and I had yet to reach an elder. This can be a genuine challenge for individual’s wanting to learn about their culture in city centers and something I struggle with daily. My only other option was to create a unique design based on common factors I found in traditional beadwork. Due to time constraints, the design had to be simplified quite a bit; and I did not start working on it until most of the painting and its colour pallet had been completed. I wanted the beading to compliment the colours used throughout the painting.
The image produced in the painting is a stylistic reinterpretation of the original, and the choice to not display the original photograph of my Grandfather is intentional. Memories are not a static thing, and they often change and alter as time goes by, so why should an interpretation of a memory be ‘exact’. The image was painted on cold-pressed watercolour paper with Winsor and Newton professional paints. After the painting was completed, the Métis beadwork was applied to cotton muslin cut out and then appliqued to organza, a shiny opaque fabric. This created a luminous and slight hazy effect to the image. The beadwork shows a central flower blooming, with smaller vines and florals sprouting away from it. This is a nod to the regrowth of traditional knowledge and culture in my family. A Sonder Illumination reflects my family’s history, future, and the impact individuals have on our narrative.
About Emily McNeill
Emily McNeill was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. A member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, she is currently working to reclaim her cultural identity. Emily tends to work in sculpture, using mixed media, materials, and techniques. Much of her work focuses on the expression of human identity, drawing from personal experiences and expressing them through the form of animals. Emily utilizes the viewer's personal reactions and assumptions of the animal sculpted to shape the work's perceived message. Two of her works, Reflection and Joy, won first place in their respective categories at the Calgary Stampede Art Show, with another work, Guardian, placing second. Emily is currently attending the University of Lethbridge to complete dual degrees in Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education, with a minor in Fine Arts Education.
BodyWork
2020
found denim, 3ds Max, Mudbox.
https://youtu.be/kO7rwHauFPs
This work is about how culture has torn apart my perception of myself. Like the denim, I feel thrown out as if no one would care about me. I found the jeans throughout the streets of Lethbridge. At first, the project was a quilt about being biracial and how I feel stuck in between two cultures, never fitting into either. I have felt my experiences with culture have been unique to how other biracial individuals feel. When it came to being a part of the puzzle that is community and culture, I felt like a piece of the puzzle that didn't belong. This thought process is what brought me to explore the project further. It became a jacket that I could embrace myself in; the aspect of embracement was something I had to explore after years of pretending to fit into a mould of an average straight white male. This project is about reclaiming my identity. This is me saying, “This is who I am: a transgender pansexual Whasian Canadian (White and Asian), and I want everyone to know.” To come out during a pandemic is kind of a wired thing. How do I tell and show people?
My challenge is in presenting myself with the jacket. The solution was to rebuild my body in 3d Max from head to toe. But the construction of the jacket was much more complicated than anything else. Being a digital artist, sculpting with fabric presented a new medium. I avoided making the jacket look like anything manufactured. If it did, I felt like it would be fitting the mould of what society says is or is not a jacket. Have you ever felt like you didn't belong?
About Alexis Bernardo
Alexis Bernardo was born in Edmonton, Alberta and was raised in a secluded town in the country named Vegreville, Alberta. Vegreville is predominantly a Caucasian town. Alexis is biracial. She is Filipino and Caucasian; however, Alexis is also a Pansexual and Transgender. Vegreville is also a town that does not approve of diversity. To say less, Alexis had a rough time growing up. Alexis was made to feel like she should reject her Asian heritage. She was known as “The Asian.” Growing up in a town where no one looked like Alexis became very difficult as she matured. Not only did no one look like her, but she also could not relate to anyone culturally and ideologically. From the age of ten, Alexis knew she was not straight. Alexis was bullied for the colour of her skin and, on top of that, her sexual orientation. By the time Alexis reached Highschool, it became a means to survive to suppress her Sexual orientation and preferred gender. From the moment Alexis entered high school, she felt that she was born into the wrong body. She always felt like a she. However, Alexis wanted to play sports. In the old-fashioned religious country town that she lived in to play for either a men’s or women’s basketball team as a transgender person would not be possible due to the school’s old policy of transgender people and sports. Said rule was removed. However, the ideology was never removed from the minds of the players and coaches/management. It would have been impossible to be trans or gay or lesbian, or anything different than what was deemed normal to survive at said high school, let alone play sports on a team that represented the school. Alexis sacrificed her identity to survive and pursue her dreams. She pretended to be normal to fit in rather than be happy in her skin. Alexis is now in her third year at the University of Lethbridge, pursuing a degree in Fine Arts in New Media degree and a degree in Bachelor of Management in Marketing. Alexis’s upbringing has shaped her creativity. Her identity as a child was suppressed and as an adult living in Lethbridge, Alberta, her expression of her identity comes out in her art.
Broken, but Mending
2020
Sculpey clay, wood board, acrylic paint, contact cement
Broken, but Mending is an interpretation of my family and their struggle in Canada, my identity, and my own personal demons. The idea behind this piece takes a part of my family’s Okinawan culture: protecting the home and the person. The shisa (lion dogs) are the two statues on the platform, which are cultural representations of guardians of the home in Okinawa, Japan. One has its mouth open to ward off evil spirits, one has its mouth closed to keep good spirits in. These statues are sitting upon a combination of the Japanese and Canadian flag to represent the protection of the lands united, a place and a culture we call home.
I chose to have these shisa’s shown broken but coming back together in a kintsugi style repair, but not fully complete. Kintsugi is the Japanese practice of repairing broken pottery with lacquer that has gold or silver in it to highlight the embracing of imperfections, and the creation of something even stronger. This is to show the guardians failure at protecting my family from the struggles they endured during their move to Canada, where they experienced harsh working conditions and were placed in Japanese internment camps. Hence, the shisas are placed on top of the combination of the nations’ flags.
The brokenness of the statues also represents my own identity and my struggle with my own demons, showing the inability to protect myself as I learned to navigate life with a mental illness: bipolar II disorder. This is significant as this is a struggle within my own body, a place I should be safe and at home in. The colours I chose to paint the statues reflect this disorder and my demons by having one painted in dark, heavy tones to represent the lowest pats of my illness, and the other painted with light, airy colours to represent the highest parts of my illness. Both of the colours are placed chaotically on the statues as both of these highs and lows are not a necessarily pleasant or uniform thing, often causing a significant amount of chaos in my mind.
I am learning.
We are mending.
This is my home.
I am home.
About Kenzie Campbell
Kenzie was born and raised in Coaldale, Alberta, growing up in a wonderfully loving household. She moved to Lethbridge, Alberta in 2015 during her first undergraduate degree, still staying close to her parents and family. Kenzie primarily works with acrylic paint on canvas. Recently, she has been exploring and enjoying creating art through pyrography and linoleum relief printing. Kenzie is a strong mental health advocate, with her artistic work usually focusing on her struggle with herself and her mental illness, trying to bring light to what it is like to have a mental illness.
Kenzie has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Lethbridge and is currently working towards completing an after-degree in Art Education, after finding a passion for teaching children and wanting to spread her love of art to many.
Claiming Myself
2020
desk, luggage, religious textbook, personal photographs
I found this artwork to be extremely meaningful to me. It represents a connection to my past and offers insight into who I am as a person. The manner of creating this artwork has aided me in confronting the struggles of identity. As a child growing up in a broken family, mental health, poverty and sexual identity were a problem for me, and this followed me into adulthood. I chose these materials because they have a strong connection to my past. Photographs have a way of capturing time, emotion, and memories. The desk is a powerful symbol of knowledge and learning, and connects what I have learned and what I will learn as I continue my journey in this life. The incorporation of the travel luggage represents my struggles with moving around as a child. Growing up with a feeling of insecurity, it is a reminder of what little I could fit inside. It is a representation of my family life, religion, and self-worth. The religious textbook illustrates the friction within my religious upbringing and speaks to my sexual identification as a gay male. My religious affiliation disapproved of my sexual orientation. This disapproval would bring great uncertainty in my world and would cause me to re-evaluate my belief system of my faith.
This artwork relates to the theme of identity. It has helped me identify the problems that have occurred in my life. It has also helped me deal with the trauma, in helping me move through my life events, and has provided a positive change in the man I have become. A major challenge in making my artwork was incorporating each item in a way that the viewer would understand my message. With each object having a specific meaning already, I struggled with how I would make a broader connection to the emotions contained within my chosen objects. If I could ask the viewer a couple of questions, I would ask them what they find personally meaningful in the work. What do they feel is worth holding on to, and what do they feel is worth letting go of? Materialistic things come and go, but knowledge is the one thing that can never be taken away.
About Cory Stangeland
I was born in Vermilion, Alberta, and have lived in the prairie province my whole life. I am currently a full-time student at the University of Lethbridge, and I am working towards completing a double major with a B.F.A. – Art and B.Ed. I currently live in Lethbridge while attending my second year of studies. Facing a near-death experience in 2017 has profoundly shaped my outlook on life. I’m now living in the moment and loving who I have become.
Our Home and Native Land
2020
Autodesk Sketchbook (digital art program), Huion drawing tablet, Adobe XD
Follow link to animated version of images:
https://xd.adobe.com/view/58e0edfb-796d-402b-a756-88d1eafdd67d-0db3/?fullscreen
This piece is about the conflict between my perceptions of Canada throughout my life. The images were drawn digitally with a tablet in Autodesk Sketchbook, and the interactive animation was achieved through Adobe XD. I did this in consideration of the online gallery.
The first image represents my initial perception as a child. I had thought that Canada was a perfect place and was always very proud of being Canadian. For my family, Canada was a haven – my grandparents and great-grandparents moved from the Netherlands, Poland, and Hungary prior to and after World War II. They were able to escape the adversities of their home countries to live better and safer lives. For this reason, I had always viewed Canada as this welcoming refuge that allowed my family and I to be safe and free. In the piece, this perception of pride is represented by the crisp maple leaf. The connections to my family that immigrated to Alberta are represented by the fireworks – the colours are from the flags of the countries they were from. A younger version of myself with my immediate family on Canada Day is included.
The second image represents my recent perception as a young adult. Having finished high school and being in my second year of university, I have learned about Canada’s historical and contemporary abuse towards Indigenous people. When I think about my family and I living here, I remember that we have taken advantage of the land that is not ours. Canada’s colonial history has enabled us to move here, to create new livelihoods here, at the expense of so many other people’s lives. We are part of this settler legacy in Canada. I now view Canada as imperfect, a nation built on racism and Eurocentric self-interest. In the piece, this perception of disgust is represented by the torn and crumbling maple leaf. The connections to my family that immigrated to Alberta are represented by the shadows and tendrils of darkness spreading over the prairie and mountain landscape. My personal feeling of guilt is represented by a current depiction of myself learning about Canada’s history, and the red undertones from the shadows seeping into me.
The conflict between these two perceptions is represented by the transition animation. While I am grateful that my family was able to escape pre/post-war Europe, and that I have lived in a free country my whole life, I also feel incredibly saddened and disgusted by this country’s actions and guilty that I am part of its settler legacy. I have titled the piece Our Home and Native Land in reference to this, as that legacy is what the line in "O Canada" refers to. The piece may also remind one of their own perspectives and experiences regarding settler legacy – and depending on each individual -- to consider the similarities and/or differences to my own.
About Mackenzie Bronk
Mackenzie Bronk was born and raised in Lethbridge, Alberta. She primarily works with drawing and painting mediums, both in the traditional and digital practice. The focus of many of her original pieces is centered around portraying human emotion through facial expression and posture of figures. She attended art classes all throughout middle school and high school. One of her graphite figure drawings from her final year of high school, titled Isolation, was displayed as part of a class exhibition at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in 2019. Mackenzie is currently attending the University of Lethbridge and is working towards her Undergraduate Bachelor of Fine Arts degree as an Art Studio major.
Roots
2020
Rocks, permanent marker, medicine cards
Roots symbolizes my deep-rooted connection to my family, land, and heritage. My Oma was very big into her Indigenous culture, history and practices. When she moved away in 2009, and we purchased her house from her, she left behind a few things. I believe she left these things behind for me to find and keep. I found two book and card sets wrapped in hide. The first book is called Sacred Path Cards: The Discovery of Self Through Native Teachings by Jamie Sams, the second, Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals, by Jamie Sans and David Carson.
I decided to look through the books and discovered that many of the pages have been written on or underlined, showing important significance to my Oma and how she connected with each writing and card. It almost brought tears to my eyes to see her writing as her writing was very unique and I have never seen anything even close to it. I matched the card with the writing and read through it, and it made me feel connected to her again. I am not a religious person whatsoever, but I am spiritual. We had an on and off relationship with my Oma as she suffered from various types of mental illness and was a danger to herself and the people around her. I do have very warm memories of her, and I am so glad I still have these books as a way to connect with her now, even with her being gone almost 10 years.
I chose to have Roots placed out on the land, in the grass, in a specific spot that holds a lot of significance to me; my family and I had lived on the land for the first time while my Oma had owned it. The site where the rocks are placed is a great spot that overlooks the rest of the quarter section, showing the true beauty in the land. From this spot looking west you can see the beautiful mountains watching over us as the chinook brings in that warm winter breeze. Along with the wind, a musky smell of wet land travels towards the house and clashes with the smell of my mother and grandmas baking. It is such an odd combination, but there is nothing more heartwarming than the smell of home. The rocks I used for this piece are picked off of our land. I chose rocks that in a sense contrast each other. I did not want them to be perfectly round or show the same colour as I did not want it to seem fabricated.
After I chose the rocks, I went through the books and chose the animals I wanted to represent. My process of choosing the animals was to portray the ones that were of great importance to my Oma, but also related to me. The animals I have chosen are moose, badger, squirrel, hawk and wolf. A line my Oma underlined on the moose page is, “Self-esteem is the medicine of the moose”, which I relate too because growing up I had almost zero self-esteem. As I mature, I am finding that I am becoming more comfortable with who I am as a person. The next animal is a badger: “Become aggressive enough to do something about your present state of affairs.” I relate to this because I have always tried to work hard if I was not comfortable in a certain situation and used my strength in order to complete the task my way. The next animal is the squirrel. The line I really relate to is, “It is time to let go.” I hold a lot of resentment towards my childhood state of affairs, but every day I am working towards letting go of that anger and frustration. Hawk is one that was underlined a lot, and the quote I connect with the most from this reading is, “It is a sign to beware or be aware.” I have a hard time with this because I am very free-spirited and often do not think about the danger in a lot of situations. Finally, wolf: “Expand your limited view of the present situation.” When I read this, my mind instantly goes to the COVID pandemic the world is dealing with now which is causing school to be online. I am an introverted extrovert, which means, when I go out, I enjoy social events but can get overwhelmed easily, and do not mind my alone time. I just need to remember things could always be worse.
My connection to my parents' place and the land it is on runs deep. I have very vivid memories of when we lived here with my Oma in my early childhood. I remember sneaking the vegetables from my suppers to feed to the minis and catching grasshoppers to throw at my mom. I also have memories from when I was a teenager. I would sneak down the driveway in the pitch black and have a backpack with bottles clinking as I walked. So many memories live on this land that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I hope one day I will have the means to buy this place from my parents.
About Trinity June Vandebeld
Trinity June Vandebeld is a 20-year-old woman who has always had a love for art and her culture. She was raised in the small town of Sundre, Alberta in a chaotic love-filled home with her mother, father, and brother, as well as her grandparents from her mother’s side. Trinity typically works with watercolor and acrylic paint on canvas. She is very open to other forms of art such as 3D sculpting and ceramics. Trinity has completed 2 years of her Bachelor of Education degree at Red Deer College and has transferred to the University of Lethbridge to get her combined degree. She hopes to become a high school English and art teacher to continue to inspire creativity in the next generations of kids. Trinity aspires to be the person she needed when she was a teenager.
Inno’maats’kahtaahkssin
2020
Cotton, Poly-cotton fabric
Inno’maats’kahtaahksin is a Blackfoot phrase meaning to pass something down through generations. For my project I wanted to create a visual representation of the transference of traditional knowledge in my family. Sewing has always been a favourite pastime of mine. I was taught to sew by my mother when I was quite young. Some of my favourite childhood memories were watching my grandmother sew on her old treadle Singer sewing machine and being taught to sew by my mother.
I created nine miniature dresses representing five generations of women in my family using a pattern that my great-great grandmother, Sakoi’sinopakii, created. This pattern was passed down to my grandmother, Sakohtamahka, then to my mother, Astakata, and to me and my sisters who will then pass it down to their daughters and my nieces once they’re old enough to sew. My great-grandmother created the dress pattern during the early 1900’s. These simple cotton dresses are typically worn for ceremonies such as the Sundance. During the springtime, my mother and I get together to sew new dresses for the upcoming Sundance. While sewing we have tea, share stories and just enjoy our time together. I feel a strong connection to my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother when I sew. My mother helped with this project by sharing her skills and knowledge in creating the dresses and by sharing the history behind it. It’s not only the technical skills that are taught and passed down that are important, it’s also the stories, teachings and time shared during these sewing sessions that are cherished and just as valuable.
I would have liked to see my project displayed in a gallery setting, but the strange times we currently find ourselves in prevent that. I initially wanted to create a video for my project, but I decided that photography is just as impactful.
About Sioux K. Crop Eared Wolf
Lethbridge-based artist Sioux K. Crop Eared Wolf was born in Edmonton, Alberta and raised on the Blood Reserve. Her focus is on film and animation as she loves creating a narrative for telling stories that might not otherwise be told. Her Blackfoot culture is a huge influence on her work. She focuses on narratives from an Indigenous woman’s perspective, which she believes is very important. She is an avid traveler and enjoys meeting new people from different cultures and backgrounds. She believes that traveling broadens her world view and gives her a better standing of humanity as a whole.
In 2018, Sioux’s short animation, Our Sister’s Voices, was chosen as for the People’s Choice Award at the LAMPS (Lethbridge Alberta Motion Picture Showcase) animation festival. The work she did in a collaborative class film project, Perfect, was also recognized. She is involved in the local film community and is a member of LIFS (Lethbridge Independent Film Society). She had multiple projects selected for the University of Lethbridge New Media online showcase during Summer and Winter of 2018. Sioux is currently completing her 4th year of a New Media Degree at the University of Lethbridge.
Stolen
2020
digital photography
I did my project on the residential schools that are (were) present on my reserve.
My first picture is of St. Paul’s residential school that opened in 1887.
My second picture is of where St. Mary’s Residential school stood. It opened in 1898.
Then, St. Paul’s residential school was located 7km west of Cardston and St. Mary’s was called "The Immaculate Conception Boarding School.”
These schools are where children from 5-18 had been boarded for school, usually year-round. A lot of children were not allowed to see their parents for, usually, years. (Priests and nuns would take the kids to Waterton during the summer months.) Some never saw their parents again and did not have a home to go back to when they were done school.
In the year 1887, the government had approved for children to be taken from their homes and placed into schools, where they suffered many different kinds of abuse and torture. (Yes, torture)
"If these schools are to succeed we must not have them to near the reserve; in order to educate the children properly we must remove them from their families. Some people might say this is hard, but if we want to civilize them we must do that."
- Government statement giving permission to take children by force.
Western society wanted to "kill Indian and save the child." And that meant becoming civilized and learning to worship by any means necessary.
Canada refuses to acknowledge what happened to First Nations and other Indigenous peoples. Were constantly told that it wasn't that bad, and to "get over it."
Getting over it seems impossible when there are physical and emotional barriers present in everything you do.
Intergenerational trauma started in residential schools. The trickle-down effect began in these schools and is still affecting children today because our grandparents and parents were told that everything they knew about themselves was wrong and were punished for it.
My grandparents are survivors, my parents are survivors.
My life has been heavily impacted by the residential school system.
Addictions
Abuse
Violence
and surviving.
raising little ones
who carry the knowledge of grandparents taken away
brows furrowed as they sit
trying to understand what it means to be stolen
our children know miracles because they exist
tenille k campbell
About Sarah Eagle Bear
I am a Blackfoot mother of two, from the Blood Reserve where I was raised for most of my life. I started my educational journey in 2016 at Red Crow College, and later enrolled at the University of Lethbridge in 2019. I am in the Psychology program, and I plan to specialize in Intergenerational Trauma. My first experience with art was making a war shirt at Red Crow College. I then realized why art had so much meaning to my people and the volumes it spoke for them. To see other students creating from their own cultural perspectives has always been inspiring to me. Revisiting these sites had me filled with emotion and brought a new understanding to what it meant to be stolen child, like my grandparents. To be able to listen, understand and be a support for my community is what has drawn me to Psychology.
UNKNOWN
2020
21” x 46”
Canvas acrylic paint, masking tape, brushes
I chose to do this painting because I felt like I was able to express myself better through color. There is many ways you can interpret this painting. For me each painting represents the before and after Indigenous people had to endure throughout the years. The first painting represents the ancestors before residential schools, the orange background gives off a calming energy. The second painting represents First Nation people in residential schools, those times were incredibly dark for our people, which leads me to the color I chose which is black and greys to represent the darkness and emptiness First Nation people endured. This is significant for me because a lot of my aunts and uncles especially my grandmother went to residential schools.
The 3rd painting represents the effects of residential schools and the continuing genocide of our people, such as MMIW, addictions, suicide etc. Personally, this has affected me by witnessing family member lose their lives to addiction and suicide. One of my biggest fears is having a loved one go missing especially my daughter. I had painted the background blue to express the grief and loss that we endured. The fourth painting represents healing, I used education as the example of a process of healing among our people. Being able to attend post secondary school is a huge accomplishment for our indigenous people, because there was a time where we were not able to attend all. Seeing our people succeed whether they are younger or older make me genuinely happy. Growing up around non- indigenous communities I was never properly educated about my culture, so I grew up with little information about my own culture. Attending the university have giving me the opportunity to educate myself more on my culture. I chose to make the person faceless to relate to identity and that way the viewers can have an emotional connection to the painting as well. It is also a representation for all indigenous people. I truly wanted to express the emotion I felt while making this painting.
About Keelie LittleLight
Keelie Was born and raised in southern Alberta but is currently residing in Lethbridge. She is a member of the Tsuu T’ina Nation but has a mixed bloodline with the Blood Tribe Reservation. Keelie has mainly worked with acrylics on canvas but has been inspired to do an interactive piece and sculpting. Her inspiration stems from personal experiences and regaining her cultural identity. Living with her husband and daughter, she is attending her 3rd year at the University of Lethbridge. Keelie is intending to major in accounting but is now working her way to become a psych major.
