My Langara Reconciliation Carving Journey: knowledge

Sunday, March 12, 2017

We've Started Carving the Red Cedar Panels

Well today was a very big day. We started carving the Red Cedar Panels. These panels honor the all the Children and Survivors of the residential schools and the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women.

I pause as I write, writing isn't my strong point and I want to do this right.

First we want to honor the Musqueam Nation whose land Langara is situated and who has been named.

Posted on the website

"Located in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada, Langara College started in 1965 as part of Vancouver City College and in 1970, it opened its West 49th Avenue campus. On April 1, 1994, Langara College was established as an independent public college under the Provincial College and Institute Act.

The College is also known as house of teachings, a name given to us by the Musqueam First Nation, on whose unceded traditional territory we are located.

Today, Langara is one of BC's leading undergraduate institutions providing University Studies, Career Studies, and Continuing Studies programs and courses to more than 21,000 students annually."

So if you have been following this blog you will know that it has been a very emotional process to say the least but it's been profoundly enlightening in so many ways and I have learned a great deal of knowledge about carving from the SUPER AWESOME teacher and carver Aaron Nelson Moody.

Shane Pointe -
has been our knowledge keeper (elder*/uncle/wise one) helping to guide us down the right path and keep us in focused, spiritually & mentally with his beautiful chants and lovely powerful words of wisdom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i8XL54pf0A

Aaron Nelson Moody
also known a Splash http://splashingeagle.ca/ has also shared beautiful truths and stories that have helped enlighten and guide and keep us strong when the going got really tough.

It's been tough, believe me.

Dr. Justin Wilson

I must not leave out Justin Wilson. Dear Justin, so kind and wanting to do things right and we are on the same path I believe...he's coming at it from the academic side and trying to bring these very important teachings into what has been historically a violent place for so many Indigenous people.

I am from the outside...so annoyed with what the academic world did to my life and is doing to my child's...the good, the bad and the ugly...but I digress and want to keep this positive.

We started!! Hurray.

I was so nervous. I was worried we wouldn't be able to carve the panels, that we either couldn't do a good job or that we wouldn't finish. But we started and just watching and doing a little bit, I was empowered. I am sure it's all the women, all the children, all Shane's beautiful chants and wise words. He told us they would help us. He called them and asked them and I can feel them. I am so grateful. I get all teary writing this....

I am not worried now. We are going to do a great job. I am so looking forward to the next few weeks to see the progress. I am sad that in a few weeks it will be over.

Sad that this very special journey...our canoe trip will be over...we will have arrived at our destination. I just hope everyone is there to meet us.

We worked hard for this. So hard...so many of you will never know or understand because you had to be there and traverse all those strong currents, huge waves and storms together along with all the beautiful calms and peaceful moments.

So here are just a few photos. I made some video but have to re-edit and get permission from everyone.

Take care everyone, send us your love and light. We still have a bit of the journey to do, we need your love too!!

*Shane Pointe explained to us early on that he dislikes the name "elder" and so we have chosen other names...many call him "uncle" some "knowledge keeper" I like to refer to him as the "wise one"

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Guests, Wisdom, Design and Carving

We had SPECIAL GUESTS yesterday in class (I will share more about this in another post.).
That was really fun.

Wow, we cover so much in the day and a lot of it is subtle, so I just try to absorb as much as I can.
Someone asked me what stood out for me yesterday so here's a little list, no random or importance

-We attached a frame to the panels- actually I arrived a little late, so I watched and took photos! ha! ha! still I tried to remember for if I have to one day.

-We talked about the rings in the boards in the panels. We talked about how old they actually be..possibly 500 more or less

- Talked about old growth wood and what it is and how it grows, how in the forest the young trees race to the top of the canopy but then they are spindly and then the thicken over many years and the lower branches drop. How people thought the could reproduce forest but they can't...the new lumber just isn't the quality

-Talked about grain, which way does it go, how to feel for it, ... how cutting a board is so different than splitting cedar...and how cedar was just shipped to Europe almost as junk. So so sooooooooooo sad.

-Talked about what kinds of sand paper I should use on my knives and about the stone I bought.

-Talked about cedar, where to buy it and things like that.

Shane shared special things with us.

Our special guests shared powerful moving stories about their lives that touched my heart and motivated me, inspired me, saddened me, made me laugh. Made me laugh so hard my cheeks hurt.

Yes, it was a great day.. and emotional day. I never get through a day in this class without a lot of energy and emotion...

Emotion, that's what stood out, there was great emotion when we were close to deciding on how to design the panel. We are getting so much closer all the time. It's getting really exciting.

Anyways, here's what I did today. We decided that we are going to have one large circular image in the centre, split between two panels and then 9 circles each side.

That is the plan so far and so, what we are doing is designing and carving a piece of our own and it will be attached. When we finish our pieces we can help on the big panels. So this is just for fun, all I actually have for an assignment is to create a new design, so here is an idea and them for fun and practice my attempt at carving it.

So today I went and bought a piece of yellow cedar and here is my attempt and my new design.