An Arts Organization Policy Brief on Indigenous Knowledges

waaseyaa'sin Christine Sy; Yuxwelupton  Qwal’qaxala (Bradley Dick); France Trépanier; Eli Hurtle; Charles Campbell; Mark Loria; Rance Mok; Raj Sen

doi:10.18357/kula.141

Authors

waaseyaa'sin Christine Sy University of Victoria and Open Space House Committee
Yuxwelupton Qwal’qaxala (Bradley Dick) Open Space House Committee
France Trépanier Open Space House Committee https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2523-9101
Eli Hurtle Open Space House Committee
Charles Campbell Open Space House Committee
Mark Loria Open Space House Committee
Rance Mok Open Space House Committee https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4357-5774
Raj Sen Open Space House Committee

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18357/kula.141

Keywords:

Indigenous peoples, Indigenous knowledges, arts organization, decolonization, policy brief

Abstract

This policy brief provides an overview of Indigenous knowledges for an arts organization on the Pacific West Coast in Canada. To orient readers, the brief is contextualized within the broader arc of the organizations' history of commitments to, departures from, and re-engagement with commitments to decolonization and decolonial practice. It provides a list of additional resources.

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Author Biographies

waaseyaa'sin Christine Sy, University of Victoria and Open Space House Committee

I am Ojibway Anishinaabe of mixed ancestry from bawating Sault Ste. Marie and obiishkikaang Lac Seul FN in Ontario. I am a poet, creative, and have a PhD in Indigenous Studies. As an Assistant Professor in Gender Studies, I teach at the intersections of indigeneity and gender and my research is Anishinaabe-specific and focuses gender, relationships with land, and Anishinaabe knowledges through an historical lens. As an activist my commitments are to Indigenous sovereignty, decolonization and building/being a part of communities of care and accountability across difference. Christine is a Board Member for Open Space and sits on OS' House Committee.

Yuxwelupton Qwal’qaxala (Bradley Dick), Open Space House Committee

Usah Yuxwelupton, Usah Qwal’qaxala: exin usah Lekwungen, exin usah Ditidaht, exin usah Da’naxdaxw, Chaley’ahsen na’xe’xe Lekwungen snapunuk. Usah Qeyes ti’eh tay’chul he’elthten Open Space. Hay’sxw’qa si’em nakwilia. Hay’sxw’qa si’em nakwilia. I am Yuxwelupton, I am Qwal’qaxala, I am from Lekwungen, I am from Ditidaht, I am from Da’naxdaxw, My sacred Inherent rights are Lekwungen teachings, I am a newcomer to this group Open Space, Thank you all respected, that is all for now, Thank you all respected.

France Trépanier, Open Space House Committee

France Trépanier is a visual artist, curator and researcher of Kanien’kéha:ka and French ancestry. She lives and works on the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. Her practice is informed by methods of engagement and collaboration.

Eli Hurtle, Open Space House Committee

Eli Hurtle is a curator, filmmaker, and visual artist of Cree & British ancestry based in Victoria, BC on Lekwungen territory. His current research and interests include language revitalization and beadwork.

Charles Campbell, Open Space House Committee

Charles Campbell is a Jamaican born artist, writer and curator currently based on Lekwungen territory. His work investigates non-linear concepts of time and the future imaginaries possible in the wake of colonization.

Mark Loria, Open Space House Committee

Mark Loria is the owner and director of Alcheringa Gallery in Victoria. Alcheringa Gallery is a specialist in contemporary Northwest Coast indigenous art. Mark has decades of visual arts, arts management and cultural leadership experience. He has held executive and senior positions with the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Glenbow Museum, Institute of Modern Art (Australia) and Shaw Centre of the Salish Sea. Mark is an artist himself with a BFA in visual art from the University of Calgary majoring in printmaking and also holds an arts management graduate certificate from Capilano University.

Rance Mok, Open Space House Committee

Rance Mok is an architect and independent arts programmer born in Hong Kong and currently living on Lekwungen territory. Her work and interests lie with people and their relationships with public spaces.

Raj Sen, Open Space House Committee

Raj Sen was a curator, filmmaker and arts administrator thankfully based on the territory of the Lekwungen people (Victoria, Canada). Raj was Executive Director of Open Space Arts Society.

References

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Additional Resources

L’Hirondelle Hill, Gabrielle, and Sophie McCall, eds. 2015. The Land We Are: Artists and Writers Unsettle the Politics of Reconciliation. Winnipeg, MB: ARP Books.

Nagam, Julie. 2020. Aaabijijiwan New Media Lab. https://aabijijiwanmedialab.ca/lab. Archived at: https://perma.cc/JT89-78JD.

Robinson, Dylan. 2020. Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

Robinson, Dylan, and Keavy Martin, eds. 2016. Arts of Engagement: Taking Aesthetic Action in and Beyond the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier Press.

Skawennati, and Jason Lewis. 2021. Initiative for Indigenous Future. https://indigenousfutures.

net. Archived at: https://perma.cc/G4YB-FPNM.

Wesley, Saylesh. 2014. “Twin-Spirited Woman: Sts’iyóye smestíyexw slhá:li.” TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly 1 (3): 338–51. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-2685624.

Younging, Greg. 2016. "The Traditional Knowledge—Intellectual Property Interface." In

Indigenous Notions of Ownership and Libraries, Archives and Museums, edited by Camille Callison, Loriene Roy, and Gretchen Alice LeCheminant, 67–74. Berlin; Boston, MA: De Gruyter Saur.

An Arts Organization Policy Brief on Indigenous Knowledges

Authors

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