Passage

Passage (2021).
Digital Print.
62 x 34”
Commissioned by the National Arts Centre (NAC) for the national virtual exhibition, Indigenous Cities.

Passage (2022).
Animation.
Soundtrack: Gordons Groove by Grey Buffalo Singers from George Gordon First Nation.

Description of Passage

The work Passage was commissioned by the National Arts Centre (NAC) for the virtual exhibition, Indigenous Cities. This national exhibit called upon selected artists across Canada to tell a story about their territory.

This work’s subject centers on Saskatchewan Indigenous territories of Cree (Nêhiyawak), Saulteaux, Dene, Metis and the Sioux (Dakota, Lakota and Nakota) and primary river routes of the Fort Qu’Appelle and Saskatchewan as passages for cultural exchange.

The work, Passages, honors several thousands of years of history of Indigenous traditional lands and cultural exchange, long before the dark legacy of the relatively recent forced colonial treaties and oppression.

The soundtrack for this animation is Gordons Groove by Grey Buffalo Singers from George Gordon First Nation who are my family members who have been big drum singers for several generations. Archival film footage was created in 1883 by Eadweard Muybridge. (Creative Commons)

Mary Longman, Aski Piyesiwiskwew. George Gordon First Nation, Saskatchewan