Echoes from This Land

The project

About

Echoes from This Land: Visioning and Revisiting the Truth & Reconciliation 94 Recommendations fostered a collaborative experience that provided artists and creators from Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities of different backgrounds, ages, genders, ethnicities, abilities, incomes, nationhood, and nationality with a forum to openly discuss and better understand the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the 94 Calls to Action.

Through group discussions and interactions with guest lecturers, knowledge keepers, and Residential School and Sixties Scoop survivors, the project’s artists and creators gained intimate knowledge of the forced removals of Indigenous children from their families. They were then encouraged to share their understandings of their chosen call through their own lenses and lived experiences. Through these visual representations, the project aims to create a deeper understanding of the history of colonization that continues to impact Indigenous communities across Turtle Island to this day.

Echoes from This Land encourages viewers to connect with the visual reflections of artists and creators interpreting the 94 Calls to Action, adding visual understanding to the printed words. The project aims to inspire people in all communities to gain insight into these calls and enrich their understanding and commitment to action.

The goal of this project is to include all voices in the circle. Artists and creators developed print editions using traditional and new media forms of printmaking, including linocuts, woodcuts, stone and plate lithography, etching, photo-etching, 3D printing, collagraph, screen printing, digital media, performance, and hand- or digitally altered art creation and production.

The works created in Echoes from This Land embody the spirit and power of community coming together as a collective voice to lift, hold space, listen, and make change happen.

Representative image from the Echoes from This Land project

Collaborators

  • P.I. Briana PalmerAssociate Professor, SOTA, Humanities, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON.
  • Carmel Whittle2SQI Mi’kmaw-Irish Visual Artist, Filmmaker, Musician, and Storyteller; Director of No Borders Art Festival, Ottawa, ON.
  • Patsea GriffinMétis Artist, Poet, Beadworker, Thunderbird Sisters Collective, Ottawa, ON.
  • Tara CooperAssociate Professor, Fine Arts Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON.
  • Alejandro ArauzAssistant Professor, Fine Art (Visual Art) Program, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON.
  • Darlene KalynkaAssociate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Department of Communication & Visual Arts, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC.
  • Robert TruszkowskiProfessor, Faculty of Media + Art + Performance, University of Regina, Regina, SK.
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Contributors

  • Théo Redsky Paradis2-Spirit Eagle Staff Carrier, Ottawa, ON.
  • Louise GarrowWaawaaskonekwe, Crane Clan, from Anishnaabek of Sagamok First Nation, Ottawa, ON.
  • Margaret CranfordMi’kmaq Knowledge Holder and Changemaker; multimedia artist whose roots are in Flat Bay, Ktaqmkuk, Newfoundland.
  • Linda JulesKamloops Printmakers, Kamloops, BC.
  • Dr. Karen HillAssistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON.
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Special collaborative video

Juddah’s Place collaborative research video

This special collaborative video shares the research of Karen Hill M.D., Elva Jamieson, Traditional Medicine Practitioner, and Bernice Downey PhD., titled “Juddah’s Place: An Indigenous Evaluation.” Juddah’s Place is a collaborative primary care practice at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory that brings together Indigenous practitioners trained in both Traditional Indigenous Healing and Western Medicine.

The key finding of this research is that “We are the Medicine for each other” when we embrace the wisdom and ways of our culture in all of who we are in the modern world. The video shares research results that align with the Calls to Action in many ways.

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More Credits

The project would not have been realized without the collaboration, support, and dedication of collaborators, Elders, knowledge keepers, storytellers, guest speakers, the McMaster community, administrators, and all communities and participants across Turtle Island who dedicated their time, energy, and goodwill to facilitate the collaborative efforts of Echoes from This Land.

Special gratitude to Adrianne Lickers Xavier, Assistant Professor, Indigenous Studies, McMaster University, and McMaster’s Research Assistants, Sarah Notdorft and Dr. Jessica A. Rodriguez.

Miigwech, Wela’lin, Nia:wen, Niyānān, Merci, Kinanaskotmitin, Qujannami’ik, Maarsii, Gracias, Thank you to all who made it possible for the artists-creators to gain insight, knowledge, and wisdom from your stories.

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