Post #76

Response to: “Re-creating This Place: Indigenous Public Art at the Centre of Turtle Island” by Honoure Black and Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

Figure 1. Jayelyn Rae, personal photo of Niimaamaa (2018), KC Adams, Val Vint, Jaimie Isaac, May 27, 2022.

I appreciate how this essay offers a historical analysis of Winnipeg’s colonial history through the medium of public art. Honour Black and Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair take their readers on a path filled not only with Indigenous curated public art, but one filled with Indigenous acts of resistance and cultural resilience. Their essay focuses on the importance of reclaiming space and narratives within three distinct areas of Winnipeg: The Forks (Nestawe’ya/Nistawayak) – a traditional Indigenous gathering and trading place, the Rapid Transit Line- where Métis community Rooster Town stood from 1901-1961, and This Place- which serves as a contemporary gathering place for Indigenous people in downtown Winnipeg.¹ The various guest speakers in this class have taught me that Indigenous ancestral ties to the land run so deep that these areas continue to be gathering places to this day. This is another reason why reclaiming space through ruptures of public art is necessary to ensure the continuation of Indigenous narratives.

Figure 2. Jayelyn Rae, personal photo of Niimaamaa (2018), KC Adams, Val Vint, Jaimie Isaac, May 27, 2022.

I had the most amazing experience walking along Niizhoziibean (previously known as South Point path at The Forks) with our class. I had never been before, and I am thankful to have experienced the path with folks who helped create such a care-filled rupture on the land. Niizhoziibean was incubated by Julie Nagam of the GLAM collective; and artists KC Adams, Val Vint, and Jaimie Isaac collaborated to create thoughtful pieces of public art that can be found along the path such as: Niimaamaa (2018) by KC Adams, Val Vint and Jaimie Isaac, Chi-Kishkayhitamihk Si Te Li Neu Biizon (2020) by Val Vint, Tanisi Keke Totamak… Ka Cis Teneme Toyak (2021) by KC Adams, and The eighth and final fire (2021) by Jaimie Isaac.

I was enchanted by the scale of the 30-foot tall Niimaamaa- which is recognized as “My Mother” by Cree, Ojibwe, and Métis speakers.² I appreciate the artists’ ability to reclaim the medium of massive memorials- which are typically used to memorialize colonizers- to express the crucial roles matriarchs play in our society. KC Adams shared with our class that they planted a variety of medicines along the base of Niimaamaa such as sage and burdock for community members to use in ceremony. The incorporation of publicly accessible medicines demonstrates a strong commitment to community and, within that action, further creates an intimate connection to the land that Niimaamaa is standing on.

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1 Honoure Black and Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, “Re-creating This Place: Indigenous Public Art at the Centre of Turtle Island,” in Holding Ground: Nuit Blanche and Other Ruptures, ed. Julie Nagam and Janine Marchessault (Toronto: Public Access, 2021), 222.

2 Black and Sinclair, “Re-creating This Place,” 222.

Bibliography

Black, Honoure and Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair. “Re-creating This Place: Indigenous Public Art at the Centre of Turtle Island.” In Holding Ground: Nuit Blanche and Other Ruptures. Edited by Julie Nagam and Janine Marchessault, 220-231. Toronto: Public Access, 2021.

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Jayelyn Rae