[MUSIC] As we have seen, Indigenous voices come from a diversity of backgrounds and have deeply complex histories. These voices reflect issues related to personal experiences, current political and social conditions, and relevant cultural events. One such voice is Métis artist Christi Belcourt. Even though Belcourt's images and artistry have won critical acclaim, both in Canada and on an international stage, her fundamental belief system is immersed in humility, and her paintings demonstrate the interdependence we have as caretakers of the land. Most recently, she has collaborated with House Valentino to create visually dynamic Indigenous led haute couture, or high end fashion. Prior to this venture, in 2013, Belcourt began a seven years long collaborative venture with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people across Canada. Like many other Indigenous women, Christi often thought about the missing and murdered Indigenous women. To honour these missing and murdered sisters, she reached out to fellow artists, friends, and relatives to help create an art installation that would become a memorial. Walking with Our Sisters, the memorial art installation was born, and became a powerful medium with which to honour these women. This collaborative art installation includes handmade moccasin vamps, which are the tops of moccasins, and usually the most decorated. Along with a bundle of sacred items, these vamps are exhibited together to commemorate and honour the missing and murdered Indigenous women of Canada. Prior to the first stop in Edmonton Alberta, in October 2013, Christi reached out in 2012 through the vast space of social media, and word of mouth, and called out for help in creating an installation that would honour the 600 or more Indigenous sisters, mothers, daughters, cousins, and granddaughters in Canada that have gone missing or have been murdered in the last 20 years. Belcourt sent a call out to everyone across Canada, anyone who was willing to create an original pair of vamps were invited to participate. They were to be sent to Belcourt for compilation and organization for the collaborative art installation. However, three months before the deadline of July 17, 2013, the ultimate goal of 600 pairs seemed unlikely. However, no one needed to worry about the numbers because in true community spirit, the promises to send in vamps were kept. People finished their vamps and sent them to Christi in Espanola, Ontario. The final tally came to over 1,818 pairs of moccasin vamps and was created by over 1,400 individual artists. Participants from eight different countries and from many walks of life added to the collection. Many communities across Canada have hosted what is often referred to as a sacred bundle, and there has been unintended benefits amongst the hosting communities. A sacred bundle is a collection of items of a sacred nature, a small or large package that carries with it stories and protocols in which to handle and care for it. A sacred bundle often has knowledgeable caretakers that make sure it's being handled in a respectful way. As the bundle is being installed, the volunteers and organizers are swept into ceremony. Throughout the organization and preparations, strong bonds and powerful relationships are formed with the volunteers and participants. Often, volunteers stayed long after their shift was over, or they would inevitably come back to volunteer again. This became a testament to the galvanization of community that had been built. While the focus had not been to create a community within the Walking With Our Sisters Edmonton Exhibit, it happened all the same. The main priorities of Walking With Our Sisters continues to be two-fold: to honour the missing and murdered Indigenous women and their families, but to also maintain a safe and respectful place for families, friends and participants to experience them. Guests included many families and friends of the missing and murdered Indigenous sisters. This exhibit demonstrates the power in Aboriginal voice to build relationships and communities on a grassroots level. Another exhibit that exemplifies Aboriginal voice is Rebecca Belmore's Trace. Belmore is an artist living in Winnipeg and was Canada's official representative in a 2005 Venice Biennale, an international contemporary art exhibit. She is an Anishnaabek woman who says that she is living in the continuously colonial space of the Americas. The Canadian Museum of Human Rights, CMHR, located in Winnipeg, commissioned Belmore for a signature piece to be a permanent installation in the museum. For over a year, Belmore was set up in Neechi Commons in Winnipeg to create a gigantic blanket made out of 10,000-plus clay beads, shaped in part by members of the public, including school children and Elders. Interestingly, it was the excavation process for building the foundation of the museum that inspired her work. During the excavation process, over 400,000 Indigenous artifacts were recovered from the building site lands as well as archaeological evidence of 200 fire pits. The museum, like most of Winnipeg, is situated on a land full of clay. Historically, this clay was called Red River Valley Clay Gumbo. Belmore used the idea of fire and clay as the premise for her ceramic project. Belmore's project repurposed pottery shards that were found in the buried clay amongst the ancient Indigenous artifacts. Community members made the beads with the traditional lands that they had historically occupied. Much like Belcourt's memorial of Walking With Our Sisters, Belmore's project also required the collaboration and dedication of community. Responding to the historical significance of the territory, Belmore's project, Trace, carries a statement that reminds the public that the area was a meeting place for Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Situated between two great rivers, Winnipeg has a long and rich history. Making the beads for Trace allowed the current inhabitants of the land to reflect on the history of the original people of the land. The physical act of creating clay beads encouraged participants to think about the history of the land as well as their relationship to the land. Belmore has been quoted on her hopes for the project and the people involved. She says, the act of pressing this clay, this land, and at the same time thinking about the future. The people who help create this blanket or sculpture will leave their trace for those yet to come. Belmore invited anyone who wanted to participate to come to her temporary studio set up in Neechi Commons, a community co-op for Indigenous peoples, to shape and create clay beads. It should be noted that during the time that Trace was being created, The Canadian Museum of Human Rights came under a great deal of criticism for its refusal to use the word genocide in the title of an exhibit that critiqued the assimilative policies towards Indigenous peoples. Belmore's use of the blanket motif outlines the government's blatant genocidal actions of distributing small pox infected blankets to Indigenous peoples in the 18th century. Belmore's blanket represents Indigenous community action and political agency. >> What I'm hoping is that the work I'm making will somehow make sense further down the road. I'm hoping it will stand the test of time and somehow acknowledge the land the museum sits upon and the city itself. I think it's really about some kind of acknowledgement of each other, and an acknowledgement that all of us have to live someplace, and that that is complicated in the world we live in today. [MUSIC] >> Public art sometimes works to intentionally distance the viewer. Depending on the artist, art may or may not tell you what it's supposed to mean. Art might not explain how it came to be, or the social comment it may or may not be making. Community art, such as the works we have discussed, by Belcourt and Belmore, have shifted this idea a little bit. These community works often work to break down barriers between artists and the audience. As we see in Walking with our Sisters, and Trace, community works are about social change from within. [MUSIC]
