Abstract
As a Haudenosaunee artist/researcher, my work and thinking are influenced by community-based, Traditional Indigenous Knowledges (TIK) and my responsibilities as a mother. My objectives are to create artwork expressing survival of land-based identity, ethics and values, (Simpson, 2014), such as seven-generation sustainability. The art produced will create a visual, physical environment and invite viewers to reflect on Water and stories shared in this thesis. I argue that TIK embodied through art can transform how individuals see, value, and develop a relationship with Water. Indigenous art can teach humans to recognize that Water is a human right and more; Water is sentient and has rights independent of humans. Water needs to be understood beyond its current subjugation to capitalism, war, and unceasing domination. (Tamez, 2015) (Syilx Youth Water Group, 2014) (Nielson, 2014) The thesis exhibition consists of a series of 7 art pieces, two large mixed-media paintings and installation. Some reflect the threads of Water in our traditional stories, the centrality of women and embody Haudenosaunee mothering practices transmitting knowledges for future generations, specifically with my children and immediate kinship in mind. In my research I have valued the principles and teachings of Water through many distinct Indigenous Nations’ and Territories.
Follow