All My Relations Mural
All My Relations is a mural that celebrates the life of my late mother Anita – great family storyteller and archivist of our Red River Métis heritage. Each of these icons was taken from my collection of plant-based works. Each represents a story that Mom told (over and over again!) to model values such as kindness, generosity, good humour and respect for family history and the natural world.
Special thanks to Graphic Designer Sébastien Aubin for his collaboration on this work.
Photo Credit: Don Hall
For Clémence Mural
My maternal grandmother Clémence was born on a hunting expedition and raised in an outpost by her plains-hunter and trapper father and itinerant midwife mother. As a young woman, she served as a translator of Michif, Cree and French.
As an adult, however, Clémence married a French colonist, claimed French identity and vehemently denied her Indigenous ancestry to protect her 15 children from racism and residential schools.
For Clémence is an imagined view out of a teepee smoke hole that reclaims Grandma’s Métis identity. The work is inspired by teepees erected by Indigenous people on summer camps near her home in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan.
The sharp quills represent Clémence’s tough, audacious character; the bold colours and ever-expanding concentric circles represent the growing power of younger generations to create a more inclusive, equitable society for all.
Photo Credit: Don Hall