Lunar Lanterns of Indigenous Lights
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Lunar Lanterns of Indigenous Lights
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She enjoys sharing her traditional teachings in her art and loves having open, honest dialogue with those interested in her stories!
“Everything I do comes from my Imagination. I have had dreams and goals my entire life, and understanding how our imagination creates dreams, and writing down our dreams, creates goals, and goals can become reality! This year my goals are to create a very special and unique space! This ‘Year to Imagine’, for me, will be the best yet! Stay tuned!”
Let our imaginations glow and bring us on a journey together, through nature and stories and beyond.
After taking courses in animation, film and new media, Nathalie worked as a graphic designer in printing, publishing and advertising for over 20 years. She then obtained a B.A. in Adult Education with distinction before deciding to pursue her true passion, the arts, in 2009. However, not content with just one medium, she delves into painting, illustration, photography and a variety of traditional crafts.
Nathalie has had ten of her illustrations featured on Royal Canadian Mint collector coins. She has illustrated several children's books published by Nelson Education. She has also self-published her first book of traditional stories with images of her beaded cushions.
She is the co-creator of Breathe: "a collection of traditional masks demonstrating resilience in the face of the 21st century pandemic". Nathalie Bertin's work can be found in collections of the Government of Canada, the provinces of Manitoba and Alberta, the Royal Ontario Museum, and private collectors in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Nathalie's work and artistic practice have also been featured on CBC/Radio-Canada and TFO.
“The capacity to imagine gives us hope. It can push us to further our potential. Just as our spirit names are meant to identify us, they are also a means to reflect on our true inner beings. The stories we are given in a naming ceremony are often imaginative but in a way that will allow us to delve more deeply into our true essence so that we may fulfill our potential in the truest sense of who we are as human beings. To me, the Year to Imagine ignites this reflection on what we want the future to be, it opens us up to the possibilities we can move forward to lay the foundation for our best future.”
“My spirit name is Star Bear Walking. It was given to me by Métis Elder Pamela Tremblay-Hayes, who received my name and story in a vision. Elder Pamela then shared my story and name with me in a ceremony. The painting was done after receiving my name as a means to reflect on my story.”
These traditions tie us to our families and the land. Now, through our imaginations, we can tell our stories and connect with others, too!
She was born in Cape Breton, raised on a reservation by her parents. The Waycobah First Nation is located in Nova Scotia. She currently resides in Cape Breton with her husband Elliot Gould and all their children: Dakota Jay, Shianne Snow, Savannah Sipu, Phoenix Lee, Ivy Blue, and Montanna Sky.
She is currently working on a book for all the stories that go with each painting, and two children’s books to teach their native tongue. Loretta recently opened an online clothing store for her fabric arts.
“She had a dream of her friend bear that came down from the mountain behind our house. She dreamt she was feeding the bear.”
The colours inside of the bear was chosen by the artist’s daughter, and the girl herself is dressed in her favourite purple dress. A simple story of friendship, close to home and close to the heart.
Close your eyes and peer into your dream: which friend or family are you visiting today?
Tsista Kennedy’s artwork isn’t solely rooted in indigenous traditionalism, nor is it solely focused on indigenous modernism; it’s a merging of the two. With his personal experiences and stories thrown into the mix, combining these two perspectives provides the inspiration behind some of Tsista Kennedy’s artwork today.
“I believe 2023 is the perfect year for imagination, creativity, self-expression. I was teaching a lot of art remotely throughout whatever you want to call 2020-2022. I heard a lot of people saying they started creating quite a bit of artwork and whatnot since having to be inside more. While isolation may give you a heap of time and focus to create, it doesn't really keep the fire of creativity going. Stepping out into the world and observing it for yourself, connecting with people, seeing sights you haven't seen before; that's what has always fueled my imagination and creativity. Now that I'm out and about again, I finally feel the strength of my imagination returning back to what it used to be.”
“Every spring without fail, I stumble across a post someone from my friends list shares about how to identify rabbit nests in your front lawn. It's so driven into my head now that whenever I think of springtime, I also think of baby rabbits.”
As winter begins its crawl back into its burrow, let’s wake up our imagination in a new spring. Where will your rabbits lead you?
She has been painting stories meant to honour her community, her relatives, and the land she comes from since childhood, but began painting professionally in 2016, when she was in college for Child & Youth Care.
Upon graduation in 2018, Autumn moved home to her community and began painting full-time. She still lives in her community and supports herself and her two year old son through paintings, murals, and workshops.
“My English name is Autumn. My grandma used to call me Dagwaagi, and I often meet language speakers who call me the same. I love it, it reminds me of my grandma and the stories she used to tell - one of my favourites being about Nanaboozhoo painting the leaves each fall, around the time of year I was born.”
Nanaboozhoo accidentally changed the colour of the leaves, but he thought they were so beautiful that they should change every fall. So he would ask the spirits to go out and paint the leaves each fall. Mishiikenh Kwe thinks about it whenever she paints leaves. It makes her feel close to her grandma and close to the spirits of her ancestors who shared this story. Maybe some of them even help to paint the leaves in the fall.
Stories travel through time and far beyond the land by riding the magic of our imaginations. What colours will you paint the autumn leaves?
“My main motivation as a career artist is to prove an artist can survive. My main motivation in life is: Today only happens today, make the most of it.”
Past experiences include Aboriginal Youth Achievement, first Indigenous recipient of the Top 40 under 40 Chamber of Commerce Business Award for Northwestern Ontario, Thunder Bay Artist of the Year 2017, designing for the 2010 Olympics as well as a broadcaster for CBC Radio 1 Thunder Bay for 12 years. This also includes a Masters Inclusive Design degree specializing in Relating Indigenous Worldview Through Storytelling and Inclusive Technologies.
“Entering into my Imaginasium, I find that the only thing holding us back from potential, adventure, and genius is our own fear to Imagine. People feel that they are supposed to create what they “think” they should create. Imagining is giving substance to creativity. Pulling in from the ethereal and sharing with others through our own craftsmanship and mastery. Our imagination flows when we sync our mind with our true voice. Without fear comes freedom.”
In this finished work, Oginiis is asleep but her spirit is being called by figures in her dream.
What are they telling her? What are they giving her? Her path will become clear when she awakes.
This is a metaphor for the healing that is taking place in our world, communities, and families.
We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.
His grandfather’s feet are a legend in the tribe. He can cross several hills barefoot and go back and forth to the hunting ground in a day, just to feed and clothe the family. “He has always been the spirit of the mountain that I adored.”
Walis Labai’s life philosophies: let go of excess desire, live with contentment, and do good deeds. Take a step back and look at the horizon, choose only the bright side of life.
Walis Labai’s list of good things that will bring you infinite inspiration:
The blue sky and white clouds on the eastern coastline
The bright moon hanging like a tulle over the picturesque sea
travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel all over
sparking of flames and drifting of smoke
He is someone who likes to joke, with an optimistic attitude towards his life. While polio has made many aspects of his life inconvenient, through conversing with him, one can feel the strength and freedom in his every breath. He describes his deformed limbs as similar to the hundred-foot snake, and so his studio is named “The Sky of the Hundred-foot Snake Studio.” This is where he immerses himself, painting quietly for most of the day.
His persistence overcomes the limitations of the body, and on his own he has developed a style that conveys the profound warmth of Paiwan culture and the ancestral spirits. His paintings not only present a sense of visual delicacy, but also tension and mystery, leading people to explore their own hearts and souls.
Two different atmospheres and perspectives—
One, to cherish culture; one, to betray culture…
When black and white are stained with colour
when tradition is replaced by modernity
what will you leave behind?
Culture changes with the times
the footprints of the ancestors
are gradually forgotten.
In this era of rapid change
this time-weary heart
how much longer can it last?
And the young at heart
how much pressure can you bear?
I am bewildered
sighing softly in the night;
Because tradition and modernity
there is no right or wrong.
Only the beauty of traditional culture
will eventually be taken by the wave of modernity
to a new place entirely
And a few more
footprints of the ancestors will be left behind
for the people in the future to remember.
She enjoys sharing her traditional teachings in her art and loves having open, honest dialogue with those interested in her stories!
“Everything I do comes from my Imagination. I have had dreams and goals my entire life, and understanding how our imagination creates dreams, and writing down our dreams, creates goals, and goals can become reality! This year my goals are to create a very special and unique space! This ‘Year to Imagine’, for me, will be the best yet! Stay tuned!”
Kijicho-Manito Madaouskarini
Algonquin First Nation
Let our imaginations glow and bring us on a journey together, through nature and stories and beyond.
“My spirit name is Star Bear Walking. It was given to me by Métis Elder Pamela Tremblay-Hayes, who received my name and story in a vision. Elder Pamela then shared my story and name with me in a ceremony. The painting was done after receiving my name as a means to reflect on my story.”
These traditions tie us to our families and the land. Now, through our imaginations, we can tell our stories and connect with others, too!
Métis, French, and Algonquin
After taking courses in animation, film and new media, Nathalie worked as a graphic designer in printing, publishing and advertising for over 20 years. She then obtained a B.A. in Adult Education with distinction before deciding to pursue her true passion, the arts, in 2009. However, not content with just one medium, she delves into painting, illustration, photography and a variety of traditional crafts.
Nathalie has had ten of her illustrations featured on Royal Canadian Mint collector coins. She has illustrated several children's books published by Nelson Education. She has also self-published her first book of traditional stories with images of her beaded cushions.
She is the co-creator of Breathe: "a collection of traditional masks demonstrating resilience in the face of the 21st century pandemic". Nathalie Bertin's work can be found in collections of the Government of Canada, the provinces of Manitoba and Alberta, the Royal Ontario Museum, and private collectors in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Nathalie's work and artistic practice have also been featured on CBC/Radio-Canada and TFO.
“The capacity to imagine gives us hope. It can push us to further our potential. Just as our spirit names are meant to identify us, they are also a means to reflect on our true inner beings. The stories we are given in a naming ceremony are often imaginative but in a way that will allow us to delve more deeply into our true essence so that we may fulfill our potential in the truest sense of who we are as human beings. To me, the Year to Imagine ignites this reflection on what we want the future to be, it opens us up to the possibilities we can move forward to lay the foundation for our best future.”
She was born in Cape Breton, raised on a reservation by her parents. The Waycobah First Nation is located in Nova Scotia. She currently resides in Cape Breton with her husband Elliot Gould and all their children: Dakota Jay, Shianne Snow, Savannah Sipu, Phoenix Lee, Ivy Blue, and Montanna Sky.
She is currently working on a book for all the stories that go with each painting, and two children’s books to teach their native tongue. Loretta recently opened an online clothing store for her fabric arts.
Mi'kmaq, Waycobah First Nation
“She had a dream of her friend bear that came down from the mountain behind our house. She dreamt she was feeding the bear.”
The colours inside of the bear was chosen by the artist’s daughter, and the girl herself is dressed in her favourite purple dress. A simple story of friendship, close to home and close to the heart.
Close your eyes and peer into your dream: which friend or family are you visiting today?
Tsista Kennedy’s artwork isn’t solely rooted in indigenous traditionalism, nor is it solely focused on indigenous modernism; it’s a merging of the two. With his personal experiences and stories thrown into the mix, combining these two perspectives provides the inspiration behind some of Tsista Kennedy’s artwork today.
“I believe 2023 is the perfect year for imagination, creativity, self-expression. I was teaching a lot of art remotely throughout whatever you want to call 2020-2022. I heard a lot of people saying they started creating quite a bit of artwork and whatnot since having to be inside more. While isolation may give you a heap of time and focus to create, it doesn't really keep the fire of creativity going. Stepping out into the world and observing it for yourself, connecting with people, seeing sights you haven't seen before; that's what has always fueled my imagination and creativity. Now that I'm out and about again, I finally feel the strength of my imagination returning back to what it used to be.”
Anishinaabe Onyota'a:ka
“Every spring without fail, I stumble across a post someone from my friends list shares about how to identify rabbit nests in your front lawn. It's so driven into my head now that whenever I think of springtime, I also think of baby rabbits.”
As winter begins its crawl back into its burrow, let’s wake up our imagination in a new spring. Where will your rabbits lead you?
She has been painting stories meant to honour her community, her relatives, and the land she comes from since childhood, but began painting professionally in 2016, when she was in college for Child & Youth Care.
Upon graduation in 2018, Autumn moved home to her community and began painting full-time. She still lives in her community and supports herself and her two year old son through paintings, murals, and workshops.
Anishinaabe / Magnetawan First Nation
“My English name is Autumn. My grandma used to call me Dagwaagi, and I often meet language speakers who call me the same. I love it, it reminds me of my grandma and the stories she used to tell - one of my favourites being about Nanaboozhoo painting the leaves each fall, around the time of year I was born.”
Nanaboozhoo accidentally changed the colour of the leaves, but he thought they were so beautiful that they should change every fall. So he would ask the spirits to go out and paint the leaves each fall. Mishiikenh Kwe thinks about it whenever she paints leaves. It makes her feel close to her grandma and close to the spirits of her ancestors who shared this story. Maybe some of them even help to paint the leaves in the fall.
Stories travel through time and far beyond the land by riding the magic of our imaginations. What colours will you paint the autumn leaves?
“My main motivation as a career artist is to prove an artist can survive. My main motivation in life is: Today only happens today, make the most of it.”
Past experiences include Aboriginal Youth Achievement, first Indigenous recipient of the Top 40 under 40 Chamber of Commerce Business Award for Northwestern Ontario, Thunder Bay Artist of the Year 2017, designing for the 2010 Olympics as well as a broadcaster for CBC Radio 1 Thunder Bay for 12 years. This also includes a Masters Inclusive Design degree specializing in Relating Indigenous Worldview Through Storytelling and Inclusive Technologies.
“Entering into my Imaginasium, I find that the only thing holding us back from potential, adventure, and genius is our own fear to Imagine. People feel that they are supposed to create what they “think” they should create. Imagining is giving substance to creativity. Pulling in from the ethereal and sharing with others through our own craftsmanship and mastery. Our imagination flows when we sync our mind with our true voice. Without fear comes freedom.”
Anishnaabek / Kanien'keha':ka
In this finished work, Oginiis is asleep but her spirit is being called by figures in her dream.
What are they telling her? What are they giving her? Her path will become clear when she awakes.
This is a metaphor for the healing that is taking place in our world, communities, and families.
We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.
His grandfather’s feet are a legend in the tribe. He can cross several hills barefoot and go back and forth to the hunting ground in a day, just to feed and clothe the family. “He has always been the spirit of the mountain that I adored.”
Walis Labai’s life philosophies: let go of excess desire, live with contentment, and do good deeds. Take a step back and look at the horizon, choose only the bright side of life.
Walis Labai’s list of good things that will bring you infinite inspiration:
The blue sky and white clouds on the eastern coastline
The bright moon hanging like a tulle over the picturesque sea
travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel travel all over
sparking of flames and drifting of smoke
He is someone who likes to joke, with an optimistic attitude towards his life. While polio has made many aspects of his life inconvenient, through conversing with him, one can feel the strength and freedom in his every breath. He describes his deformed limbs as similar to the hundred-foot snake, and so his studio is named “The Sky of the Hundred-foot Snake Studio.” This is where he immerses himself, painting quietly for most of the day.
His persistence overcomes the limitations of the body, and on his own he has developed a style that conveys the profound warmth of Paiwan culture and the ancestral spirits. His paintings not only present a sense of visual delicacy, but also tension and mystery, leading people to explore their own hearts and souls.
Two different atmospheres and perspectives—
One, to cherish culture; one, to betray culture…
When black and white are stained with colour
when tradition is replaced by modernity
what will you leave behind?
Culture changes with the times
the footprints of the ancestors
are gradually forgotten.
In this era of rapid change
this time-weary heart
how much longer can it last?
And the young at heart
how much pressure can you bear?
I am bewildered
sighing softly in the night;
Because tradition and modernity
there is no right or wrong.
Only the beauty of traditional culture
will eventually be taken by the wave of modernity
to a new place entirely
And a few more
footprints of the ancestors will be left behind
for the people in the future to remember.
Imagination Ignites
As another spring arrives, like rabbits we come out of our burrows to meet with each other and celebrate the joy of life. This year, join us in the Year to Imagine!
Family can take on different forms. For those of us separated by sea or land from our loved ones, we might celebrate the new year through screens and phone calls. For those that have always called this land home and for those that are building a new home here, we might offer a hand to our neighbours and become a family through community. What is family, to you, today?
The natural world holds many resources for us to live and grow and thrive. Trees can be shade and shelter, and they can offer knowledge of the passing of time. Flowers and fruits can be used to sustain us, and they can offer colour and fuel our creativity. Animals walk among us, and we find friendship and familiarity in them. What other inspirations can you find in nature?
Through personal stories of ancestry, joy, and hope, witness as imagination ignites the Lunar Lanterns of Indigenous Lights.
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