Down the main aisle of the MOA’s Multiversity Gallery encased in glass sits a wooden mask painted red, blue, and black. Tufts of horse hair form large ears and a mane on its head, as well as a mustache and beard around its lips and chin. The mask wears a formidable expression, achieved by its thick brow and glaring eyes. Its most distinctive feature, however, is the oil tanker ship hanging out of its mouth. The face depicted is that of ‘Yágis, a sea monster from Heiltsuk legend. According to artist Ian Reid (‘Nusí), ‘Yágis “hunts down oil tankers and protects our territories and coast.” Reid’s piece, titled One Mind, One Heart (2012), is in response to the Enbridge Northern Gateway’s proposal to build a pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia and introduce oil tanker traffic to coastal waters. In crossing 1,170 kilometres of natural landscapes, the pipeline would also run through over 50 First Nations communities. Consequently, an oil spill would be detrimental to both the surrounding environment and the people who depend on its resources.
The Heiltsuk artist uses elements from ancestral tradition to express his stance on a modern issue. By doing this, he acts as an “artist-warrior,” representing the views of his people in an effort to incite political change. While Reid does not necessarily “appropriate the language of the western art world” as Robert Houle describes, One Mind, One Heart offers a slightly different message from the pieces adjacent to it. Rather than simply portraying the authentic or spiritual side of Indigenous culture, he tackles a more immediate concern: environmental degradation. This inserts Indigenous artwork into perhaps a more accessible context, one which is more likely to resonate with non-Indigenous viewers and thus establishes a “contact zone” where cultures are able to converge. On the mask’s left resides Peter Morin’s This Song is a Museum (2011), which is certainly embedded with deep meaning, but may seem less relevant to non-Indigenous audiences. While the medium of One Mind, One Heart is commonly found among Indigenous art collections, it accomplishes something that few other works do by linking people through a shared problem.
Above the mask is a legal document titled “Heiltsuk First Nations Declaration,” which outlines the conditions of the Heiltsuk peoples’ opposition to the pipeline and bears the signatures of the Nation’s leaders. This also situates the piece in a very tangible, real-world setting, illustrating the meeting ground between Indigenous peoples and government bodies. As an advocate of environmental justice myself, I would argue that Reid’s piece succeeds in voicing a pressing matter while requiring little to no background knowledge. It presents a strong message that may be easily understood, which in turn, I believe, contributes to its efficacy.