Abstract<\/p>\n
As a Haudenosaunee artist\/researcher, my work and thinking are influenced by\u00a0community-based, Traditional Indigenous Knowledges (TIK) and my responsibilities as a\u00a0mother. My objectives are to create artwork expressing survival\u00a0of land-based identity, ethics\u00a0and values, (Simpson, 2014), such as seven-generation sustainability. The art produced will\u00a0create a visual, physical environment and invite viewers to reflect on Water and stories shared in\u00a0this thesis. I argue that TIK embodied through art can transform how individuals see, value, and\u00a0develop a relationship with Water. Indigenous art can teach humans to recognize that Water is a\u00a0human right and more; Water is sentient and has rights independent of humans. Water needs to\u00a0be understood beyond its current subjugation to capitalism, war, and unceasing domination.\u00a0(Tamez, 2015) (Syilx Youth Water Group, 2014) (Nielson, 2014)\u00a0The thesis exhibition consists of a series of 7 art pieces, two large mixed-media paintings and\u00a0installation. Some reflect the threads of Water in our traditional stories, the centrality of women\u00a0and embody Haudenosaunee mothering practices transmitting knowledges for future generations,\u00a0specifically with my children and immediate kinship in mind. In my research I have valued the\u00a0principles and teachings of Water through many distinct Indigenous Nations\u2019\u00a0and Territories.<\/p>\n
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