(sohkahcahkwewin)
Photo transfer on canvas, acrylic paint, glass beads, deerhide.
Nohkomis awa. This is my grandmother and her two brothers. This photo was taken in the early 1940s, as my kokom and her young brother were about to face the incredible hardship and tragedy of the Indian Residential School system. Later, my kokom would also be admitted to an Indian Hospital with tuberculosis, a disease which ran rampant in the conditions of these “schools”. I often consider both the strength and luck required of them to survive, and I stitch as a way of caring for their small bodies; adorning them to honour the strength of their spirits.
(nisonotowak)
Deerhide, glass beads, thread, cotton, pearls.
This heirloom bag was tucked away in my late grandmother’s sewing things, falling into disrepair. I took it apart, cleaned it, and reassembled the pieces. During my residency, I continued adorning this piece with my stitches, once again as a way of caring for my ancestors. The title of this piece, nisonitowak, means ‘they hold one another’.
Rawhide, wood frame, acrylic and watercolour paints.
These flower designs originate in the beadwork of my great grandmother Adele Pascal (Cardinal); a highly skilled Metis woman of Lac La Biche, Alberta. She was a remarkable craftswoman, cook, fisher, gatherer, mother, grandmother, and midwife.
