#WIP Podcast - Indigenous Women’s Activism & Media (Episode 10)

2023

Work-In-Progress (i.e. #WIP) is an Art Gallery of Greater Victoria podcast that offers some insight from behind the scenes to curatorial projects that could be seen as open-ended or process-based — highlighting some of the experimental and exploratory work that is taking shape both inside and outside of the AGGV’s physical gallery spaces.

In this episode we will hear from Gerry Ambers, Marianne Nicolson and Siku Allooloo, the co-curators of the exhibition, Woven In: Indigenous Women’s Activism & Media. Joining the co-curators is Tania Willard, one of the contributing artists, Carmen Guerrero, a key activist connected to the show, and Toby Lawrence, one of the curators from Open Space Artist Run Centre, who supported the sister exhibition called Tide Lines: Coastal Resistance of the 60s and 70s. This conversation, recorded during the opening ceremony and celebration for the exhibition, offers a window into the grassroots activism and Indigenous resurgence at the heart of the project

Learn more about Woven In: https://aggv.ca/exhibits/woven-in/
Learn more about the #WIP Podcast at: https://anchor.fm/art-gallery-of-grea…

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is located on the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən speaking peoples, today known as the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations. We extend our gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to live and work on this territory.

Video editing by Marina DiMaio.Work-In-Progress (i.e. #WIP) is an Art Gallery of Greater Victoria podcast that offers some insight from behind the scenes to curatorial projects that could be seen as open-ended or process-based — highlighting some of the experimental and exploratory work that is taking shape both inside and outside of the AGGV’s physical gallery spaces. …

Featured places
See more information in Google Maps

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria4.5(420)Art gallery

Autogenerated Transcript from YouTube (if available)

Use CTRL+F to find key words if it is a longer transcript​.

0:00

welcome to work in progress an exploratory Gallery podcast hosted by the art gallery of Greater Victoria

0:06

where you will hear from artists curators Gallery staff collaborators and even different hosts as you listen to

0:12

each episode this podcast was produced on the traditional lands of the LA quangan speaking people also known as

0:19

the song he’s an Esquimalt nations in this episode we will hear from Jerry ambers Marianne Nicholson and siku alulu

0:27

the co-curators of the exhibition woven in indigenous women’s activism and media

0:33

joining the co-curators is Tanya Willard one of the contributing artists Carmen

0:38

Guerrero a key activist connected to the show and Toby Lawrence one of the

0:43

curators from open space artists run Center who supported the sister exhibition called tidelines Coastal

0:50

resistance of the 60s and 70s this conversation recorded during the opening

0:55

ceremony and celebration for the exhibition offers a window into the Grassroots activism and Resurgence at

1:01

the heart of this project we hope you will take some time to settle into the dialogue and learn from the generational

1:08

Continuum of activism that is so generously shared by some of the key contributors to this show

1:14

hello everybody and uh it’s really good to see such a good turnout today I’d

1:22

like to introduce myself my home territory from the numb face in alert

1:29

Bay on an offender Vancouver Island and my home my name is

1:37

and uh I just uh

1:42

thanks Jerry um my English name I guess is Marianne

1:48

Nicholson um my name is

1:54

from

2:01

uh anyways I’ll leave it at that for now

2:07

hi my name is siku alalu I’m a Enoch and Haitian tainino from delende Northwest

2:14

Territories I am the daughter of Mary Lynn The Rock and and Titus allalu and

2:20

I’m very grateful to be here this evening I’m actually here

2:26

uh Karma Paulette and she’s the first grandmother a first granddaughter of my

2:32

mom so hearing her memory and I gathered together in her spirit

2:38

we have a couple of her dear friends from different times in her life

2:45

um I’m with her beloved chosen sister Carmen Guerrero who’s traveled all the

2:53

way from Arizona to be with us tonight and we’ll get into the work that they did

2:59

together in a few moments but I just wanted to welcome you and thank you for

3:04

being here with us thank you ziko and thank you everybody for the invitation

3:09

I’m sorry I’m proud because it’s so beautiful I never thought I’d live this dream of being

3:17

with other women who are pioneers you know activists and we are not

3:24

forgotten we are here and we have to pass on to the next Generation so thank you wow yeah it’s incredible to be here

3:30

and see so many folks out um

3:40

territories and settler background and one of the artists in the exhibition and just really powerful to be here with all

3:46

of you hello I’m Toby Lawrence I

3:54

am sure how to follow all of you I um I’m a settler Canadian curator born

4:03

in Scotland’s territory and I have lived

4:09

most of my adult life in the guangin land I’m really looking forward to hearing

4:16

all the conversation that happens

4:21

maybe it would be good to just give a little bit of background of

4:28

what brought us here together um in the context of the work those two

4:34

exhibitions that have led um the through line that ended culminating

4:41

and bringing us together there’s an exhibition co-curated by Jerry and Toby at open

4:49

space it’s a sister exhibition to woven

4:55

in and there was a precursor that was curated by Marianne

5:01

um and they each focus on a different uh demographic of young or the leaders of

5:09

Grassroots leaders in our communities and I’ll let them speak a bit about those so

5:18

that you have an understanding of this intergenerational continuity and

5:25

coming together ah I really want to thank Jerry uh in in particular in this

5:31

process um you know for many many years we’ve been really providing and advocating for

5:37

our rights as indigenous people and you know

5:42

there was it was a number of years ago that I started talking with Jerry and

5:47

realized she had this incredible depth of experience in this she had lived through it in her entire

5:53

life and and I was in awe of it because I thought how come we don’t know how come

6:00

we don’t know about these women who have spent their lives fighting for the rights of indigenous people

6:07

and I was honored to learn from her you know what had gone on before and one of

6:13

the things I realized in talking to Jerry that there has been a systemic shutdown of that knowledge in the communities and

6:22

in general Society the power of indigenous women and I think that that’s happened because

6:28

it is such a threat to the Colonial systems the power of indigenous women

6:34

and so I’m so grateful because when I talked to jerion if you hear her

6:40

story of her life and the things that she would participate in them and did it

6:45

inspired me I felt so inspired I thought we’re not alone we’re not working alone

6:52

we are on a trajectory and there are women ahead of us who have done this

6:57

before us who can teach us how to continue this and then it becomes our responsibility to hand that on to the

7:05

younger ones and I really wanted to put together with these incredible women who are

7:11

sitting with me an exhibition that acknowledged that that acknowledge the

7:17

strength of our indigenous women and and I’m so grateful for this

7:22

exhibition and I have been in many many many exhibitions throughout my life but for myself this is one of the

7:30

best and proudest exhibits that I have participated in

7:35

so I wanted to say that and I really also want to acknowledge

7:45

Carmen because Carmen worked with siku’s mother and for many many years she too

7:52

carried this torch for us as an indigenous woman across North America so

7:58

it’s not just here and locally that we’ve been fighting this fight this is across North America and and I just

8:04

wanted to express my gratitude and I I really think that the exhibit itself is an expression of appreciation and

8:10

gratitude for the work that has been done and then as the younger ones

8:17

contextually I wanted to thank siku and Tanya because

8:23

Danny and I met when we were in uh going to UVic and I was doing I think I was

8:28

finishing my Master’s and you were doing a bachelor’s and Tanya has done incredible work amongst her own nation

8:34

and she’s gone home which is really inspiring to me to go home too because

8:40

we also need to go home and be a part of our communities and live in our lands

8:45

so I just wanted to and you’ve done wonderful wonderful advocacy work for your people

8:51

and I really appreciate the strength of that and see through your journey too has

8:56

been really really inspiring and our friendship goes way back and your story is very powerful and you’ve done powerful things

9:03

so and and I wanted to thank Toby and I wanted to thank Nicole Nicole was the

9:09

curator that we worked with to put together holding ground which was the original exhibit here of young younger

9:17

activists indigenous activists um and now we followed that up with this

9:22

exhibition you really helped us walk that road uh from the standpoint of the

9:28

institution and you were really willing to take on a lot of uncomfortable places because when we’re asking for change

9:34

it’s not comfortable so I really appreciate your friendship and I appreciate everything you’ve done

9:39

for us and I also wanted to acknowledge you Toby because what we’re doing is groundbreaking in

9:46

terms of the two institutions the art gallery of Victoria and open space collaborating to put exhibits together

9:53

that are complementary and so you know the the concepts of community and unity

10:02

um are except are expressing themselves institutionally when these two

10:07

institutions can can collaborate to provide voice for indigenous peoples so that’s all I wanted to say for now I’m

10:15

really excited about this time these times are really

10:20

exciting times they’re really tough times but they’re also very exciting and

10:25

I never thought I would see the day when uh galleries

10:31

would take that step to work with indigenous people

10:39

in a way that is respectful in our way that allows us to do what we do in the

10:46

way that we do it and I truly wanted to amend [Music] um the Victoria art gallery for that

10:54

um if you’ve really listened and you never made any decisions without

11:00

coming through us and it was like a partnership and I truly felt that it was

11:06

a partnership and I just really want to commend this gallery for that and I’d also like to

11:12

acknowledge um Doug Jarvis who is our director at the open space

11:19

gallery and Toby for their willingness also

11:27

to support our stories

11:33

as indigenous stories and what I want to say about the media exhibit here in

11:40

Wolverine and also at the open space gallery that all of that

11:48

is Grassroots history written by Grassroots for Grassroots

11:55

they’re not in any academic books they’re not um mostly curriculum that you would

12:03

find out in schools this is written by the people for the people

12:09

and all of those articles are the documentation of the struggles

12:17

and the fight that day-to-day people did in their communities day in and day

12:24

out using but very little resource that they had to make

12:29

change and believe me we’ve had to fight every step of the way

12:36

for better Medical Services which we’re losing at this point education

12:44

um we’ve gone from apartheid and my mother not being able to go to school

12:50

Beyond a certain point not us not being able to go into business

12:56

um there are so many restrictions that we never stopped

13:03

fighting for Change and this is a timeline of history that hopefully our

13:11

younger Generations will be able to take a look at and realize that our people

13:17

never stopped we never stopped fighting we never stop you know working for the

13:25

better of our children and we’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices in that process

13:32

but it’s a long haul

13:37

and that’s what gives me inspiration are these

13:44

artists that are coming and are here and are standing beside of the people it’s

13:53

really makes me feel very inspired

13:58

um and it’s been just a pleasure to work with Miriam

14:05

and you know I’ve got to know you Carmen and um Tanya

14:11

we have some amazing people in our communities and all of you who showed up

14:19

I just I really really appreciate that you hear as part of us and to listen

14:27

and hopefully that we can change the face of the reality that we’re all in at this

14:33

point in the ways we can so that’s it for me

14:41

um tidelines is a collective effort

14:46

and so all the information on the walls all of the newsletters all the

14:54

photographs were all put together by some of the

15:00

Elder activists in the community we had a gathering in the summer and people brought their

15:08

pictures and brought the dates of when they uh you know did a blockade and in

15:15

Gold River and you know corrected some of the you know so it’s all there it’s

15:23

it’s the exhibit of the Elder artists of the 60s and 70s and it’s a coastal history

15:30

because a lot of the coastal history resistance hasn’t been documented in this hopefully the starting of

15:38

something that people will be learning about in for long years to come

15:45

it’s a lifelong dream it’s such a honor to have been invited

15:54

to be part of this by Marianne and Jerry um some of the people that are my biggest

16:00

Inspirations in my life are here and um

16:06

I mentioned that we’re here in my niece and I and Carmen are here in the spirit

16:12

of my late mother who passed before she had a chance to

16:18

share this immense history and

16:23

um all through our friendship I’ve Marianne and I have shared about

16:29

the people that raised us and the people that grounded us and connected us to what’s

16:38

important and what we need to remember and what we need to be connected to in

16:44

order to really hold our place as women and as members of our

16:51

communities and for me my mom was my biggest inspiration and uh

16:58

so is Carmen answers

17:04

so is my knees um

17:09

in all of our conversations we have to [Music]

17:15

we always come back to the touchstones of uh Sisterhood and

17:22

solidarity I need your connection [Music] um

17:28

When I Look To The Archives or your typical archives I see a lot of

17:37

strength and a lot of good messages there but what I don’t see is the voices of my

17:45

mother and her contemporaries I don’t see so much the voices of our women

17:51

and I’m so fortunate to have women in my life and

17:58

to have that grounding of foundation of intergenerational stories of strength

18:05

and love and connection and resilience and those stories when

18:12

we hear those stories I hear about the struggles but more than that I hear about the resistance I hear about the

18:19

strength and the substance that kept each other going the love the care

18:26

and um the beauty it’s it’s so incredibly beautiful to hear the stories that Jerry

18:33

had to share to learn about the organizing that you did in the in the

18:39

60s and that you’re still doing today that work that you’re still doing to bring people together and to honor your

18:48

legacy and to really make us stand to ensure that that’s not forgotten that

18:54

that does not get erased and we’re here for for all of that we’re

19:01

here we wanted to bring the generations that came before us we really wanted to honor that work that

19:08

never got to be held up in the decades before us and we’re in this new time and

19:15

it’s so important and we’re so honored to be able to be here to to hold this

19:21

together with you and to hold it for the young people that are always in our

19:29

hearts and always in our minds that’s always you know it gives great importance and

19:35

weight to the reason why we’re standing here today you know we are inspired by

19:41

the ones that came before us but we also need to be here for you and we need to

19:47

be a bridge to share this with you and that’s the whole point um these three exhibitions

19:55

um they they are looking at youth activists in the 60s and they’re looking

20:00

at youth activists in 2019 that occupied the BC legislature

20:08

and had the whole country looking at the voices of young people not able to turn

20:14

away from the power of that voice and we have young people here that were those

20:20

brave people and um we just wanted to

20:26

we wanted to Showcase that because so much of so much of what we have to battle

20:33

against is the way that we are represented in the media and misrepresented in the media and not only

20:41

that when I look to the um the collection of works that’s in

20:47

the show where it moves me the most is that it’s us talking to each other and how we talk

20:54

to each other how we talk about ourselves how we witness each other’s

21:00

stories and represent those stories with such love and um such wholeness and it’s

21:07

nourishing because of that never underestimate the power of educated indigenous women

21:14

here we are

21:21

thank you so much for having me but thank you so much for showing us that our activism has to be documented

21:27

nobody’s going to do it for us so thank you for your courage to do it thank you for your support for all these

21:33

Galleries and artists we are the Forefront of change and have been for

21:38

many many centuries so I love that we are using the power of the art to change

21:44

the world right now you know by giving voices to all these women and all the

21:49

wisdom that collectively we possess and also the sharing that we have to do

21:55

because you know it Continuum means

22:01

fight keeps going you know it’s not going to get better or easier for our girls or for our women if we don’t take

22:08

leadership now we’re really not a Time and I can’t believe that 40 years has

22:14

gone by since I moved to the mall you know and then you were doing documentation

22:20

over here can you believe it and you were clapping the walls of taking the world

22:30

but I just want to tell you that’s been wonderful I feel very powerful here with all of you

22:36

having these goals and aspirations and love for the Arts and also seeing how we

22:41

can change the document in our work is going to continue so thank you goodness such amazing hearts and power shared

22:49

it’s really a pleasure to be here with all of you and with everyone here and and uh to also be in this context of

22:56

this building and the kind of architecture of it that might not have expected us to be here today

23:03

so I like being here and having these conversations and talking

23:08

about within this kind of space and and frankly in Victoria in terms of what it

23:14

stands for as well so I have some work in the exhibition and uh it’s it’s quite

23:20

a bit older work so I think one of the things I’m interested in doing is drawing out some of the connections so I

23:26

went earlier to open space and saw the tidelines exhibition and I’m born in 76

23:31

and the kind of um Native American Red Power movement um Native youth movement and that kind

23:39

of Rise of indigenous power was really influential for me as a kid as well on

23:44

this columnist Reserve at the time Robert Manuel was Chief that’s Arthur Manuel’s older son and they’re both the

23:51

sons of George Manuel and uh they you know um George Manuel’s work is is somewhat

23:57

known he was so important in drawing out International indigenous issues but I also know from stories in my community

24:04

that there was so many women behind them including I’ll mention my Aunt Joyce

24:09

Willard who’s part of occupations at Department of Indian Affairs and the um child you know the childhood Caravan uh

24:17

and so and those histories are absolutely uh marginalized histories and so a project like this that starts to

24:24

Archive those and share those I mean just look in this room it has real power and effect when when those are shared

24:31

and the other indigenous women come in can come in and do and do scholarship and understand those histories and how

24:37

they connect uh and so that was formative for me um my aunts had us she

24:42

has a little audio tape of me and my brother and sister were singing um BC is all Indian Land you know that

24:48

was the anthem for a while um style uh and so that context is so

24:56

important and then when I was at tidelines the elders Gathering you had in the picture is Michelle Pierre and um

25:02

Billy and Nina Pierre started red wire magazine which I was a part of for many years and was also really fundamental

25:09

it’s a native youth publication that operated in Vancouver and cos Salish um and musque and slavicious territories

25:16

and I was part of it for years and also I’ll have to acknowledge Marika is here who um who also did great work with red

25:23

wire and we did a lot of work around you know trying to be that voice trying to give

25:30

presents to indigenous use activism and it in fact is absolutely connected to

25:37

this line of of women and that publication history and bringing together those voices because Michelle’s

25:44

um daughters founded that and and then I was part of it and Maria’s part of it and uh and it has brought so much I mean

25:52

uh we were looking through some old issues that I have at home a while ago

25:57

and we were realizing that one of the last issues we all talked about that we were going to move home

26:03

and then and in fact that’s where many of us are because we saw the importance of of going of understanding uh the

26:12

histories of what displaced us even if it’s going to a city for work and the power that’s in our lands despite the um

26:19

you know the confines of the Indian reserve that the power of our languages and cultures

26:25

um were so critical to us being there so and I see so many other matriarchs and

26:30

people involved in the Arts in this room and so and had some earlier conversations and so I just want to

26:36

recognize that and acknowledge uh all that experience and all that struggle

26:41

about all the love right I mean that’s what I just really feel here today too

26:46

is um you know I’ve been to the long political meetings as well the kids are running around and you’re

26:53

trying to get people settled and you’re listening to the important political talk um and that work is important uh but I

27:00

also feel here that there’s um such a power that’s grounded in love and uh the

27:06

connection with family uh and relationality and family in all kinds of ways and you know to acknowledge all the

27:13

different ways that our families operate all the different gender and sexuality that we can Encompass to make beautiful

27:20

loving communities and families and I really feel that power in that here so

27:26

yeah so and and the work I shared is a comic series that I used to do many years ago because we were we were making

27:33

media we saw that urgency to have political voice um you know this is when uh BC trick or

27:40

treat um you know as is happening and people are really talking about like what does treaty mean when we’re here in

27:46

unseated territory uh and so um that that work was also we were

27:52

funded to do a magazine for getting jobs as well so the government wanted to find

27:58

us to do and uh so I decided to do some indigenous labor history because I was always interested in more revolutionary

28:04

politics than than writing a resume so I started to publish that um in that

28:10

magazine and did it for many years and published it oddly in my early 20s in like East Coast labor magazines as well

28:17

but red wire was a team and it was based in the work that women before us did and

28:22

based in the work that our ancestors did before that that bring us all and connect us all here today and so

28:28

acknowledge all of you who have contributed to that and uh who are bringing that power here and and also um

28:35

bringing it to our next Generation so Cookstown uh firstly I want to say

28:44

the family changed our Institution and as a settler cleaning curator who is

28:51

endlessly searching for models and ways to change the organization for folks

28:59

um for whom these structures do not fit um these are the books that I look to and

29:07

um um I want to Express gratitude I think idea safely say on

29:15

behalf of open space and our whole team

29:20

our gratitude for Jerry’s work with us Jerry is um in an unprecedented role in

29:28

Canada in arts institutions as an elder in Residence particularly for an artist run Center which open space is and Gary

29:37

has supported us as a team or a tiny team there’s been a long history of

29:43

Engagement with indigenous artists and art um and communities for open space but

29:49

particularly in the last few years we have faced some unimaginable traumas and

29:55

as an organization and Jerry has supported us through all of

30:01

that and tidelines really is a project that as a team we wanted to support

30:10

Jerry and we wanted to make sure that she had access to funds and our resources and

30:20

our time to do exactly what she needed to do without us

30:27

and I hope that we’ve actually done that for you so

30:33

tidelines has been a really important demonstration of what can happen when

30:39

communities come together and when um someone takes the time and effort to

30:47

really um to work with the community to reflect what

30:53

a community would want and I want to say that Jerry reminds us as we talk through our conversations about how to install

31:01

this living ongoing ever developing ever um inspiring exhibition that we are

31:08

always doing and for the elders and we’re always doing it for the folks um

31:13

that were associated with the native Alliance from Red Power and that are still living and and some of those who

31:22

are no longer with us in this world so um yeah all that to say these women are

31:30

changing aren’t the space and time

31:35

or respect what was it you felt was most important to flip on its head in working with

31:43

these institutions well I’ve had Decades of practice so I really can’t help

31:48

myself and so it was just part of the work I

31:56

needed to do whether it was open space or any other space that I

32:01

so I just would have to say that that’s really how it was

32:06

I think that for myself there was a frustration with this trajectory of the

32:12

individual male genius

32:18

and then from life experience real strength comes from community

32:23

collectivity being together working together all of

32:28

the incredible stuff that we do in our home communities it’s it’s really the

32:34

strength of women who carry our culture and I was frustrated with the institutional you know it’s kind of the

32:41

colonial imposition of the raising up of this individual male which

32:49

if you have a son as an indigenous person you don’t want your son to go

32:54

that way you want your son to recognize the strength of the woman around him and to carry that throughout his life

33:01

because that will keep him strong and safe this myth of the individual is

33:07

destroying our indigenous communities yes and I really wanted to advocate for

33:12

a space that would uphold women’s voices women’s Collective voices and that’s why

33:20

for me this is one of the most important shows I have ever participated in so and I just feels so happy in my heart

33:27

because of this and I think of the young woman and the young men coming behind us who if they can learn these lessons and

33:35

hold that strength in their hearts we’ll be able to do so much more than if they believe that lie

33:42

that it’s only individuals and men who have power to speak

33:47

so I’m yeah I’m so excited to hear these voices and and to have this happen

33:53

for me the very first uh thing that compelled

33:58

me is just the opportunity to get to work with Marianne and Jerry and to join uh

34:07

to join in the Legacy um of my mother and the work of the

34:13

generation before me and to join those voices that those stories that I

34:19

was raised with of my mom and her beautiful friendship with Carmen and the

34:26

love that and the humor and the just the beauty of their relationship that kept

34:32

them buoyant amidst um very Stark University

34:39

within the world but also within the indigenous political world at the time

34:46

having to deal with gender violence and and sexism and patriarchy and that we

34:54

still have to deal with so much but to hear about the ways that they stayed

35:01

true to themselves and encourage each other to see true to each to themselves

35:09

um that gave me so much strength and so much courage because

35:15

[Music] you know those are the those are the things that nourish young people growing

35:22

up those messages that it is important to be true to yourself

35:27

and to stay true to those values and keep your feet close to the ground keep

35:34

your connection close to your spirit and to always be reminded of those life

35:44

forces in in our homelands that nourish us that ground us that keep us strong and

35:52

healthy and able to take our place in the world and um

35:58

one of the things that always stuck out to me in our conversations we were planning this is

36:04

Marianne said at one point you know we’re not here to elevate our Grassroots

36:13

activism to the status of the gallery we’re here to bring the gallery to the

36:19

Grassroots

36:30

wow those women get more powerful every time

36:36

because the time the feminine energy is here obviously you know we’re ready to go with the Arts

36:43

and start a movement of activism that has to go beyond us another 100 years

36:49

you know our kids and grandkids are going to keep this Legacy I wanted to tell you that my family in

36:54

Arizona my husband also comes from a he’s an artist that comes from a family Legacy of artists and I also feel that

37:01

we have to model positivity like how do you make it work how do you make it your

37:07

Arts be your your life your life you know all of us is always had to do that we had to recreate ourselves

37:14

and we have to use our imagination and creativity and we had to do all those soul-searchy moments so I feel like we

37:23

are at a really special time right now amongst all of you and with all this wonderful audience over here I just

37:30

think that we’re starting something really special and it’s like the recognition of women power like we you know have been

37:36

documented documentation of our activism that cannot stop

37:42

so this is just a Continuum maybe I’ll just uh I’ll speak in the context maybe of um the work in the exhibition because

37:49

I mentioned like it was in response to funding that was allowing us to you know

37:55

that we needed to be able to have our views heard as indigenous use the urban indigenous youth primarily

38:01

um in Eastbound and uh and you know I knew that model was um limited by what

38:08

they were wanting us to do in terms of like how to write resumes and how to you know get jobs and that’s important

38:14

obviously but uh but that work was coming from a space of thinking about well when people are when people widely

38:22

are struggling for justice um in in the case of the labor movement I was looking at and then we’re often at

38:29

the time indigenous people were often not seen as contributing to that like labor movement and workers rights and so

38:36

when I was learning about some of the early industrial workers of the world unions on the um on the water in

38:44

Vancouver that became really important to think about oh yeah of course when

38:50

we’re struggling for our own indigenous rights and the land we are contributing to other social justice struggles all

38:57

around us and so I mean I was just I’m just always interested in yeah yeah we have to flip those models because

39:04

um one they’re not serving us um and they’re actually like uh

39:10

destroying us right so so you can’t do anything like agree you know can’t do anything but if you’re doing the work

39:16

you’re you’re in there and you um you you you just keep on doing what you do until you wear everything down I

39:23

guess which I’m sure you know of Leon Leland in terms of your work right so and

39:30

luckily I think the point here though is like that um you can start to recognize how uh the

39:37

the ways in which uh people communities women and stood up before us has has

39:44

contributed to the work that we are able to do today so that work becomes a little bit

39:50

um easier or there’s a bit more support or you know so I’m confident that we are

39:55

passing on a lot to all of our you know children all of our grandchildren all of

40:01

our great-grandchildren um that was you know love the bits and pieces that we’re carrying with us are

40:09

starting to take shape and will affect many after us and

40:15

um you know including in in lots in lots of different ways in families and communities and through institutions

40:20

through friendships through scholarship through all of the ways that everyone in this room is contributing to I just

40:27

wanted to say that this is about peace Justice it hasn’t changed and the only

40:32

thing is love and the power of our wisdom as women and together Community you know I

40:39

feel very together with all of you today here your histories are amazing and there’s so much to be done and we have

40:47

to document ourselves because nobody else will and you know I think also this idea of having a gallery shows here

40:54

should be taken to other cities and other places you know let’s make this an international issue because I come from

41:01

South America so my people in Brazil when I was um in Berkeley with Maria Lane doing the

41:09

newspaper dihena the first bilingual one ever um they were dropping nine pounds on the

41:16

people of the Amazon you know they were destroying the forests that was 48 some

41:22

years ago and we were talking about how they’re going to destroy the planet in the Amazon are the lands of the world

41:27

they produce more oxygen than any other place we need that to live and we look

41:33

now I look now about 45 years later and we are destroying it we couldn’t stop it

41:38

it didn’t matter how much I studied how much we documented how much we activated just like that though they didn’t care

41:44

about you know people protesting they still put the pipeline on it They Don’t

41:49

Care About Us so we have to rise up and we have to unite and talk about you know

41:55

sustainability it is about our love for Mother Earth it’s not just your mom it’s all about mom he’s all the matriarchs we

42:02

stand in the shoulders of giant matriarchs you know most native communities have matriarchal our

42:09

matriarchal you know and then also when they you know they had progress when we

42:14

both had they could talk to be you know have the same power of the world word as

42:20

a man you know and some communities have that and they prosper and they have more

42:26

Harmony and balance so that’s what I think I hope for all of us that we pass on this wisdom

42:34

I should mention this um on behalf of my mom the reason that she started the newspaper is because uh

42:41

mainstream media wasn’t documenting the the colonialism and the genocide that

42:47

was being inflicted upon indigenous people in South America but more than that they

42:54

wanted to unite indigenous voices um Across the Western Hemisphere they

43:02

wanted to um not just keep in silos they didn’t

43:08

want to stay within just the American Indian movement or you know these Regional things they said we’re all

43:14

indigenous people Carmen wanted to publish in English and Spanish because she wanted to light up

43:20

the Colonial Highway and be able to have people have dialogue and they did have

43:26

dialogue through these Publications um you’ll see in uh the exhibit you’ll

43:32

see some of Jerry’s collection that has covers in there showing native people

43:39

from all different parts of the world and in the issue that was featured in

43:46

the exhibit from Indiana it’s I hope that you spend some time with with all

43:51

the pieces I truly hope that you spend some time and observe the work but we

43:58

have a feature in there and it’s a editorial written by my mom and Carmen and it’s dedicated to indigenous women

44:04

of the Americas and um it was the messages that are still

44:09

relevant today still need to be heard and their whole impetus was resistance and

44:18

reaffirmation of space I was actively being denied and actively being erased

44:23

and it’s a continual representing reaffirmation of the of the women’s

44:30

leadership and the voice and the voice that United people across vastiographies

44:36

and vast struggles yeah I think my mom might have been upset if I didn’t

44:42

speak a little on behalf of of what drove her to start this paper

44:48

and so with the help of Carmen Indiana became the

44:54

uh they had the most up-to-date and most extensive reporting on indigenous

45:01

political movements in the world and they circulated across North Central and

45:07

South America and Beyond and Europe and um yeah so it’s it’s really incredible

45:14

really rich history that completely interconnects Jerry was doing

45:19

even before that in the decade before that which is so extraordinary and yeah

45:24

just thank you for being here I hope you enjoy

45:35

thank you all for taking the time to listen in on this important conversation and many thanks to Jerry Marianne siku

45:43

Tanya Carmen and Toby for expanding the conversations around this exhibition and

45:48

the importance of indigenous women’s roles in enacting change through generations for those who want to learn

45:55

more about woven in indigenous women’s activism and media visit agv.ca

No results found