From September 2016 to April 2017 I attended Langara Reconciliation Carving Cohort. This was my online journey- a collection of research, thoughts, feelings, work and anything that would aid me and others to help the next 7 generations.
Friday was the completion of our responsibility in creating, designing, carving, caring for the red cedar panels and the yellow cedar circles.
Since September 2016 when I won a Carving Award to attend Langara's Reconciliation Carving Cohort, 17 brave souls have been learning and carving together from Justin Wilson, Aaron Nelson Moody, Shane Pointe and many other beautiful souls to create these sacred panels.
These sacred pieces were created to honor the children of the Residential Schools who never came home and those Survivors who live with the trauma the rest of their lives and also honor the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women.
This has been a very difficult journey. One I find so hard to put into words.
We had our ceremony yesterday..I had to speak and it was so hard to voice anything of the billions of thoughts racing through my mind. I just told everyone I loved them.
It was such a beautiful ceremony...I cried through nearly all of it.
It is really hard to explain and so I won't try. Garwin Sanford is working on a documentary so we will see how that all goes.
I am going to make a video too but right now I am so exhausted from so much emotion.
"Just know that some people said we shouldn't do this, some thought we couldn't do it, but we have shown everyone we can! "
We have demonstrated that people of all backgrounds and beliefs can come together and work together to try right wrongs. We can acknowledge the terrible truths and we were all witnesses and now we must work with the education systems and all social networks to share the truths and help those who don't know, to understand the evilness of the past (and present) and help those suffering to cope. There is still so much work to be done but this is a baby step in the right direction.
Here's some photos.
Carvings for Reconciliation.
One panel honors the murdered and missing
indigenous women. One panel honors the children who never returned home
from residential school, or who came home forever changed... #mmiw#carving4reconciliation
I will add the names of the artists/carvers to pieces in a bit. Just so you understand the piece. In the center is a design by Aaron Nelson Moody http://splashingeagle.ca/ it is of salmon and all they represent with there struggle to survive and being a life source and life giver. Each of our cohort created a piece to represent themselves. The panel represents all of us. One heart, one mind. Nautsamat!! We are one!
Sacred Panels honoring the Missing Children and Survivors of Residential School
From Wikipedia
Photo Description
English: Beaver "Manda", by Jim Hart, 1995, Canadian Museum of History
Date 21 February 2016
Source Own work
Author D. Gordon E. Robertson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hart_(artist)
Hart was born in Massett, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. His mother, Joan Hart, is the grand-daughter of Charles Edenshaw. His father was European, allowing Hart to escape the Canadian Indian residential school system that many Haida of his time were sent to. Instead, he grew up with his grandparents and became a fisherman.[2]
Hart discovered his passion for Haida art in high school. He began carving seriously in 1979. Hart first apprenticed with Robert Davidson in 1978 to help construct a set of totem poles. From 1980 to 1984 he became an assistant to Bill Reid in Vancouver, who by then was too seriously afflicted with Parkinson's disease to do much of his own carving. He began his work with Reid by putting the finishing details on The Raven and the First Man, a centerpiece of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, and he also assisted on Reid's Spirit of Haida Gwaii / The Jade Canoe.[2][4]
Hart lives in both Vancouver and Haida Gwaii.[2] In Haida Gwaii, he is known as ˀIdansuu, a hereditary chief name that he received in 1999 after it had earlier been held by Charles Edenshaw.[2][3] As chief he belongs to the Hereditary Chiefs Council of the Haida Nation.[5] He was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2003.[6] Read more
