Feature Artist — Community Arts Council of Williams Lake

Our Feature Artists

Indigenous Film the Centrepiece of the Fourth ComeUNITY Event at Central Cariboo Arts Centre

Two days of learning, engagement and embodied arts and culture support the process of meaningful Truth & Reconciliation

By Venta Rutkauskas

 

Working with Themes - Working with Our Hands

On Day Two of ComeUNITY, local artist and language-keeper Gerri Grinder will provide an art-making experience centering the Red Dress theme seen vividly in the ‘Yintah’ film. When we create art, we are learning on multiple levels, while engaging with Indigenous-led practices.

Showcasing a challenging story for the Autumn 2024 ComeUNITY event, The Community Arts Council of Williams Lake continues to dedicate two weekend each year to “rebuilding the village along the pathways of Truth and Reconciliation”. The goal is consciously build foundations of trust in culturally safe spaces, exploring the contrasting worldviews that co-exists in Indigenous and settler modes of thought.

YINTAH - A Decade of Resistance

“Yintah means “land.” Spanning more than a decade, Yintah follows the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s fight for sovereignty, following Howilhkat Freda Huson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham as their nation reoccupies and protects their unceded ancestral lands from some of the largest fossil fuel companies on Earth.

This ongoing fight spotlights the Canadian government’s role in sidestepping the 1997 Supreme Court decision that affirmed that Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs have authority over their ancestral territories, and their seizing of Indigenous land at gunpoint for thepurpose of resource extraction, forcing Wet’suwet’en leaders to put their bodies on the line,building barricades to keep the companies out. The future of the Wet’suwet’en is at stake.”

Howilhkat (Freda Huson) continues ceremony and song as RCMP arrive to enforce Coastal GasLink’s injunction at Unist’ot’en Healing Centre.

Photo Credit: © Amber Bracken.

On the night of the screening at The Central Cariboo Arts Centre (entry by donation), we’ll feature two guest speakers to discuss local Indigenous context for our audiences. Bev Sellars is a celebrated Indigenous author, activist, and former chief of the Xat'sull (Soda Creek) First Nation in British Columbia, Canada. Through her compelling writing, she has brought to light the lived experiences of Indigenous people, particularly the impacts of colonialism, residential schools, and systemic injustice. Her acclaimed memoir, They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School, is a poignant, deeply personal account of her time at St. Joseph's Mission. shedding light on the trauma of residential school systems and the resilience of survivors. Her second book, Price Paid: The Fight for First Nations Survival, expands on these themes, exploring the broader struggles faced by Indigenous communities, from land rights to the ongoing fight for justice. A passionate advocate for Indigenous rights, Sellars' work continues to inspire dialogue around reconciliation, cultural survival, and the strength of Indigenous communities.

Blaine Grinder is Tsilhqot’in educator, land defender and traditionalist.  He’s resided in his home community of Tletinq’ox for the last many years, finding the most meaning from building a relationship with Tsilhqot’in Nen, or land, and the language.  Blaine has been mentoring with his mother, Gerri, and other family mentors to learn Tsilhqot’in through the First Peoples’ Cultural Council Mentor - Apprentice Program.  His dedication to learning and teaching is inspiring, and his focus on sharing that with youth will ensure that the knowledge he’s absorbing is shared down through generations.

Watching the film, you’ll become intimate with parts of this stunning territory, and perhaps like me, you will marvel at the waters and landscapes the Wit’suwit’en hereditary chiefs are defending against.  You’ll also learn about the 1997 Delgamuukw-Gisday'wa decision from the Supreme Court of Canada, which recognized that the Witsuwit'en people never gave up title.  The colonial laws were only plastered on top of a Nation’s existing governance structures, and so we are party in this film to the complexities of systems that want very different outcomes.

When asked what they want people to take away from the documentary, Brenda Michell was clear. "It should be everybody's fight to protect the land and the waters — especially the waters," she said. 

"Hopefully, everybody will stand up and start … making noise and making more efforts to hold our political leaders accountable for all the decisions they're making that really aren't good for the planet."

Film trailer: YINTAH (2024) - Official Trailer 

For our second day of gathering, Gerri Grinder has outdone herself with beautiful Red Dress Movement inspired art pieces we will embellish with beadwork. Throughout her life, Gerri has learned her cultural craftwork, becoming a masterful beader and moccasin maker. The themes held within Artist Jaime Black’s work have undoubtably touched Gerri’s life as an Indigenous woman, and she shared that many memories surfaced while creating.

Jaime Black’s installation work has become synonymous with honouring the lives of Missing and Murdered.

“AN AESTHETIC RESPONSE TO THE MORE THAN 1000 MISSING AND MURDERED ABORIGINAL WOMEN IN CANADA.

The REDress Project focuses around the issue of missing or murdered Aboriginal women across Canada. It is an installation art project based on an aesthetic response to this critical national issue. The project has been installed in public spaces throughout Canada and the United States as a visual reminder of the staggering number of women who are no longer with us. Through the installation I hope to draw attention to the gendered and racialized nature of violent crimes against Aboriginal women and to evoke a presence through the marking of absence.” From The REDress Project – Jaime Black

For the completion and integration of learning on Day Two, we bring in a facilitated Restorative Justice practice called Listening Circles (Facilitating Listening Circles | Professional Development | Continuing Education). Facilitators Margaret-Anne Enders and Aubrey Jackson guide the group through a process that gently coaxes themes for furthering engagement in ant-racism and building compassionate communities.

So much gratitude to The BC Arts Council and Province of BC for their support of the arts in a role of growth, healing and learning. Due to this phenomenal support, we’re still here, working our tails off to bring you creative programming with heART.

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