The piece ‘One Mind, One Heart’ currently displayed in the ‘Anthropology Museum’ at UBC is one such that is bringing up one of the many underlying problems between the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada and the Canadian government for all to see.

Within a seemingly ordinary exhibit in the museum where heaps of little baskets made of fibers are featured next to one another, little artifacts that these people had used are encased behind giant glass walls. And merely a few feet from these pieces, a rather odd-looking mask encased behind a glass frame that covers it on all four sides sits staring.

The whereabouts of the piece did not make a great impression on displaying the importance of this mask since it was sort of in the middle of small and insignificant every-day usage artifacts, but then I realized that perhaps this was the point. Despite my thoughts on the location impairing the artifact’s importance, the fact that it was out of place did in fact make me think it stood out and drew my attention to it even more. This appears to be a great tactic to draw more attention to the mask without shoving its importance down people’s throats.

At first glance, the piece appears to be just another one of the countless aboriginal-made masks portrayed in the museum, it has the traditional blue/red paint covering around its eyes, deep black eyes, a broad nose and long brown hair that falls from either side of the mask. At closer inspection however, it becomes clear that some kind of boat is placed between the lips of the mask, the angry facial expression and the angle of its facial expression gives off the feeling that it is perhaps biting down on the boat, as though trying to snap it in two. This was a direct reference by the Heiltsuk Nation to the relevant Canadian government officials that they did not approve of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline and to the oil tanker traffic that would pass through their territory and their waters. This piece is perhaps the perfect example that showcases the ancient teachings of the Heiltsuk peoples, those of protecting their land and waters against such perils. The creator of the mask Nusi delivers “I created ’Yágis for One Mind, One Heart, an installation at the Museum of Anthropology to show my support in opposing the Enbridge Pipeline Project. He hunts down oil tankers and protects our territories and coast.”.

Citations:

Bonar, Thane. “One Mind, One Heart Exhibit at MOA.” Aboriginal Portal, aboriginal.ubc.ca/2013/01/02/one-mind-one-heart-exhibit-at-moa/.