For Clémence
My maternal grandmother Clémence was born on a hunting expedition and raised in an outpost by her plains-hunter and trapper father and itinerant midwife mother. As a young woman, she served as a translator of Michif, Cree and French.
As an adult, however, Clémence married a French colonist, claimed French identity and vehemently denied her Indigenous ancestry to protect her 15 children from racism and residential schools.
For Clémence is an imagined view out of a teepee smoke hole that reclaims Grandma’s Métis identity. The work is inspired by teepees erected by Indigenous people on summer camps near her home in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan.
The sharp quills represent Clémence’s tough, audacious character; the bold colours and ever-expanding concentric circles represent the growing power of younger generations to create a more inclusive, equitable society for all.
Photo Credit: Don Hall