By Tatiana Zamorano-Henriquez Photo Courtesy of Dr. Mique’l Dangeli *Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society Art plays an integral role in the process of reconciliation as it is a way in which people, nations, and cultures can “say what goes unsaid” (Dr. Dangeli). For this reason, art “has a really important place within the reconciliation dialogue and… more funding should go to supporting Indigenous people creating their art (culture and way of being) with and for their people rather than reconciliation being focused on Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaborations because we have so much to reconcile within our own communities” (Dr. Dangeli) first and foremost. The process of reconciliation itself is a challenging one, and the difficulty of this process comes in understanding what reconciliation truly embodies. I had the privilege to sit down with Dr. Mique’l Dangeli, an Indigenous visual and performing artist who holds a PhD in Northwest Coast First Nations art history , while also working as a curator and a professor. As I sat in her and her husband’s art studio, I was so encompassed by culture, histories, and knowledge that it was as if the entire room was alive. It was breathtaking and moving all at the same time. It was here, as she painted one of her collaboration pieces that she had done with her husband, Mike Dangeli, that she relayed to me her powerful words and guidance for a legitimate form of reconciliation and the role of art in this process. Through her words, what profoundly resonated with me was the following statement: “Education is important, but if the focus is always outwards and not inwards, then we are not strengthening our practices we are just practicing for others” (Dr. Dangeli). These words were striking,...

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By Chloë Lai Photo courtesy of  Chloë Lai As I followed Keiko and the volunteers into the Beyond Music meeting space at the Musqueam Cultural Centre, I was greeted by the sound of lively chatter and haphazard violin-string plucking. Then one of the students spotted me and said, “Who’s that?” Good question.  It was something I’d spent the past two months (or the past 15 years, if I’m being completely honest) trying to find the answer to. I was fresh from a research trip to Borneo, where I had reached out to my paternal grandmother’s side of the family. She is Kadazandusun, an ethnic group indigenous to Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah. My father and I drove all over her hometown of Penampang interviewing as many elders as we could find. We learned about cultural taboos, rituals surrounding birth, marriage and death, and hilarious flirtation techniques that involved licking fruit sap from someone’s neck.  Several of the elders we spoke with were related to us by blood or marriage, others were introduced to us by friends. More than half of them had never seen or heard of us. Regardless of whether they knew us or not, our shared ancestral connection meant that we were welcomed with open hearts at every turn.  As someone who’s spent over a decade in a city known for being aloof, I was overwhelmed at this reception. I was determined to find ways to keep that spirit of connection alive once I came back to Vancouver.  The Beyond Music students told me that their favourite thing about the program so far was learning to play the violin. One of the students even held her violin case in her arms throughout the entire session. Since music is one...

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 By Ellen McLaren Photos: Barb Mikulec   Steady drum beats reverberated throughout the hall, deep voices singing out a canoe journey song. Water nowhere in sight, the audience was still transported to riverbanks and shorelines, chants pulsing with imaginary currents. The Coastal Wolf Pack performance group then transitioned into an honor song, equally stirring – the friendly chatter preceding the opening ceremony had long since faded to a murmur, listeners all sitting in respectful silence. The auditorium had filled, organizers and volunteers leaving their booths to catch a moment of the final canoe journey song before the performers descended from the stage, still singing as they exited the room. Applause broke out as the Musqueam Band’s celebration of National Aboriginal Day was set into motion. Taking place every summer solstice, June 21, National Aboriginal Day is a time for all Canadians to honor the cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. Festivities take place across the country as people, both within and outside Aboriginal communities, gather to learn about and appreciate Canada’s foundational societies. In Musqueam, the celebration took place a few days early on June 19, a sunny Friday afternoon. The day started with emcee Gordon Grant, who carried on a lively banter with each person he introduced to the stage. Chief Wayne Sparrow gave opening remarks, first acknowledging Musqueam’s elders and then extending welcome to visitors to Musqueam. This included the new Vancouver Chief of Police, Adam Palmer, who was there with a number of his force, all relaxed and chatting with other attendees. The crowd was decidedly mixed, attendance among Musqueam Band’s community traditionally high, but with a sizeable number of outside participants also present. Fellow intern Amy Cheng and I were there representing Kerrisdale Playbook, hoping for...

By Amy Cheng   This spring I had the pleasure of being invited as a participant of the Weaving History Together: Making a Collaborative Blanket project led by Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society, which is an interactive and collaborative scheme designed to bring our neighbourhood together as a community through weaving a community blanket. Not community in the way it is used to describe a target market where conversations are only grazing the surface level. I’m talking about a real community of diverse people, of all ages and backgrounds, invested in each other. With that in mind, I spoke with the project facilitator, Debra Sparrow, an eminent weaver on her vision and inspiration for the project, and some of the other participants, like myself, on the process and the significance they have found through this initiative.   “I wanted to facilitate art that both the young and the old could easily participate in, because I believe art can be created by everyone—we are all creative,” says Debra. Of her own work with textiles, Debra describes, “The art of weaving is familiar to every culture, making it an ideal tool in creating communication. Conversations and understanding can’t help but manifest across a loom.”   Also inspired by the her affectionate memory of the Kerrisdale Community Centre as a child, Debra says, “I think it would be really fun to weave stories from the threads of our experience and communicate our stories with others. Binding our stories together in creating a beautiful community blanket.” She hopes to demonstrate the way our stories reflect the knowledge and wisdom that are part of every generation. “We need to listen, then listen some more,” Debra explains. “We just have to pay attention.”   “This project will do just that. As others...

By Haley Cameron  Photos: Noriko Nasu-Tidball   When Wendy Sparrow first began to learn Salish weaving, her sister, Debra, wasn’t particularly interested. “At that point I was into my own jewellery design,” explains the striking Musqueam woman with a commanding yet nurturing presence that inspires instant respect.   Fast forward a few decades and Debra, perhaps best known for her design of Team Canada’s 2010 Olympic jerseys, is a celebrated weaver whose reputed projects are just as practically functional as they are powerfully artistic. But above all else her work is historical.   It was ultimately a longing for history that inspired the two sisters to pursue Salish design. They were lost, Debra explains, and yet inspired to learn their purpose. “In order to know ourselves we had to know our own histories,” she says eloquently, her sentences flowing like carefully structured prose. “It was never about becoming an artist but rather becoming who we truly are.” The two abandoned their “little girl toys” of drugs and alcohol in order to listen for direction from their ancestors.   For Debra, that internal search quickly led to a curiosity for design. Sparrow, whose brother is the current Musqueam chief, is careful to explain that “art” per se does not exist in Musqueam culture. “Everything made is made to be used,” she outlines, describing how even the most ornate and decorative creations had a purpose in ceremonial practices. Her own interpretation is not that art doesn’t exist, but rather that “everything is art.”   “Growing up we were only really exposed to Northern design styles,” Debra says, explaining that the history they did know was never presented visually. “We grew up hearing it but not seeing it,” she continues, noting that while she knew the iconography...

By Dave Wheaton Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball   It’s sexy, fun, intelligent, and provocative. The RezErect exhibition at Bill Reid Gallery of North-West Coast Art is an exploration into erotica, something we tend to forget when thinking about Indigenous culture. But what does it take to make an exhibit like this possible? Beth Walters has been on the Board of the Bill Reid Gallery of North-West Coast Art since its beginning. She suggested we meet at the gallery on Hornby Street to experience it firsthand. We’re thrilled that we did. “This is an unusual gallery” – Beth   We start with a tour of the gallery, led by the co-curator of the current show, Kwiaahwah Jones.  RezErect is an amazing exhibit with a variety of pieces across a variety of mediums. The provocative theme of the exhibit is realized in so many ways; some artwork is funny, some is scandalous, some is empowering, and some rebellious.  Bill Reid Gallery is the first to host an exhibit of aboriginal erotica, earning the greatest response the gallery has seen. But most of the gallery’s shows are original concepts so Bill Reid Gallery is no stranger to this sort of venture. In the past, the gallery has hosted a show on Aboriginal humor and a show on textiles. Original ideas like these help Bill Reid Gallery stand out and appeal to all audiences. Emphasizing these unexplored aspects of coastal First Nations’ culture has defined Bill Reid Gallery as a cultural authority here in Vancouver. “Exhibitions such as this are like stories”, says Beth, “They open your mind and your heart to new ideas”.   While discussing Vancouver’s Bill Reid Gallery with Beth we also met the Executive Director of the gallery, Mike Robinson, who explained a little...

“A Sense of Place in History” An Interview with Brian Robertson Interview  by Espen Fikseaunet* Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball *Studying social anthropology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim and currently enrolled in the First Nation Studies at UBC   In the southernmost part of Dunbar, not too far from the Musqueam reserve, I meet with Brian Robertson. At the sound of the doorbell I open the door to find a very tall, middle aged man, dressed in semi-formal attire. Nothing about his style reveals the fact that he’s an artist –  nor, for that matter, do we have any telltale clues that he’s a historian and scientist. He reveals all that later on. As we exchange polite greetings the discussion soon moves on to Norway, the country where I’m from, and one of many countries that Brian has visited. Already he’s beginning to talk about some of his experiences and opinions, so we decide to move to the table where the conversation can be recorded. With maple tea and dark chocolate in front of us, we launch into the first question. – What led you into music? “Well, it’s one of those situations where I’ve kind of evolved into being a musician and a singer/songwriter. Playing music, much less creating and performing it, was not something I started until well into my life.” Brian goes on to explain how he loved dancing as a child, and how that prepared him for his musical endeavors later in life. Eventually he picked up the guitar and started singing in his late twenties. His main genre is Folk Music, possibly as a result of the strong tendency towards Folk in the 60s and 70s when he first started out as an artist. Some years after...

Kerrisdale Community Centre board member Bill Harris is the race manager of the Grandragons. Story and photos by Katja De Bock Across the street from Kerrisdale Community Centre, Ron and Betty MacDonald are preparing several times a week for a day on the water. The MacDonalds are cofounders of the False Creek Grandragons seniors’ dragon boat racing team and have been training and racing since 1998. Dragon boating originated in China and requires 20 paddlers, plus a drummer and a steersperson to compete in racing events such as Vancouver’s Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival. The name Grandragons was chosen because all founders of the group were grandparents. “It just kind of started as a joke, but now we’ve come so far,” said Betty MacDonald, who trains several times a week and would like to see more Kerrisdale residents join. She tried to recruit people from Kerrisdale when the team started 17 years ago, but was advised the people are too old. “Well, guess who belongs to there now,” said Betty, 78. If you are over 50, or newly retired and in good health, you can come out for training, said Tom Oliver, captain of the Grandragons, with several members aged 80 and up. “You just have to have the desire and the ability to be able to paddle, and to get in and out of the boat.” An annual fee of $350 covers coaches, boat rentals and entry fees of around seven regattas a year. Most of the athletes are competitive, which is an international trend, said Oliver. “More seniors are becoming involved in competing,” he said. “Internationally, they now have a Senior C-category for people 60 and over. They never had a category for that age group before.” Race manager Bill Harris is a non-paddler, responsible for managing challenges...

Alison Bremner – a Tlingit artist     Alison Bremner (K’úwux) is a Tlingit artist born and raised in Southeast Alaska. Bremner is an Owl of the Raven moiety of the K’ineix Kwaan from Yakutat. In 2009, Bremner participated in a Coming of Age Ceremony; the first of it’s kind in over 100 years in Yakutat. It was then that Bremner began to dedicate her life to the Tlingit culture. After witnessing the beautiful regalia at Celebration 2010 in Juneau, Bremner’s passion for Tlingit art was awoken. “Traditional art is not simply art – it is an internal compass, a connection to who we are as people and where we come from.” Bremner creates regalia such as button blankets, octopus bags and hand-drums. Bremner also paints and weaves. Bremner believes that focusing on the positive side of the culture will help it move forward. “There is a misconception that all First-Nations people are stoic and somber. While there has been much despair in our history, there has also been much to celebrate. I seek to shed light on our native sense of humor. There is nothing quite like one of your aunties jokes”. Humor, with an underlying theme of perseverance. In her spare time, Bremner dances with the Mt. St. Elias Dancers of Yakutat and the Git-Hoan Dancers of Seattle. She also enjoys sci-fi movies and a good cup of coffee. Owl Button Blanket Wolves Button Blanket Green Eyed...

My passion        Written by Lindsay Gibson My name is Lindsay Gibson and I am from the Musqueam Nation in Vancouver BC. I am 28 years old and have lived in Vancouver on the Musqueam reserve since 1990. My family and friends are extremely important to me, as it is their love and support that has made me who I am today, I admire each and everyone of them. My number one goal in life is to positively contribute to other people’s lives, Aboriginal youth in particular. When I am not at work you can find me walking, reading, kayaking, enjoying a live show, and camping when I have the time. For the past three years I have been combining my passion of kayaking and helping by participating in Kayak for a Cure Vancouver. Where we paddle from Jericho to English Bay and back and donate the proceeds to the Canadian Cancer Society. I have done many things as I got my first job when I was thirteen years old, and had a summer jobs in Musqueam everyyear since. Before I even started to work my friends and I started a Creek Clean-Up Crew where we would clean up the local creek in Musqueam. One summer two other youth and I taught Musqueam’s traditional language to kindergartners to grade fours. I have done everything from Musqueam Bike Patrol, receptionist, treaty researcher, to landscaper. I was even hired as a youth carver to work on a totem pole outside the Musqueam Band Office. In 2005 I participated in a Haida Gwaii field studies course with Langara College, which started my interest in world culture, travel and experiential learning. The following year I went to Ecuador as a participant on an Aboriginal exchange project, called the...