Celebrating Ursula Johnson’s work at the Art Gallery

On Wednesday, October 16, an eager crowd gathered at Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery for the launch of the catalogue Ursula Johnson: Mi’kwite’tmn (Do You Remember).

First presented at Saint Mary’s in 2014, it toured Canada from 2014 to 2018. Mi’kwite’tmn examines ideas of ancestry, identity and cultural practice. Johnson deconstructs and manipulates the function and image of Mi’kmaw basketry, using traditional techniques to build non-functional forms.

The catalogue includes essays and interviews about the work. It is a trilingual publication – with texts provided in Mi’kmaw, French and English.

The launch included a ceremonial welcome and a discussion between Diane Mitchell (Mi'kmaw translator), artist Ursula Johnson and Director/Curator Robin Metcalfe on the intricacies and challenges of translating text into Mi'kmaw.

The Saint Mary’s University Art gallery has been a leader in working with contemporary Indigenous artists and curators. Over the past decade, it has presented five major Indigenous exhibitions.

Ursula Johnson is a performance and installation artist of Mi’kmaw First Nation ancestry. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally since graduating from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design with a BFA in Interdisciplinary studies in 2006.

Her performances are often place-based and employ cooperative didactic intervention. Recent works include various mediums of sculpture that create consideration from her audience about aspects of intangible cultural heritage as it pertains to the consumption of traditional knowledge within the context of colonial institutions. Johnson has been shortlisted for the Salt Spring National Art Prize and the Nova Scotia Masterworks Award. In 2017, she was the first Indigenous artist from Atlantic Canada to be honoured with the Sobey Art Award, the pre-eminent prize for young Canadian artists.

A riveting presentation by renowned artist Kent Monkman

Left to right: Dr. Rylan Higgins, Chair of the Department of Anthropology; Raymond Sewell, Indigenous Student Advisor; and Artist Kent Monkman

Kent Monkman discussing his powerful 2017 artwork The Scream (2017, acrylic on canvas, 84” x 126”), now in the collection of the Denver Art Museum.

Screened at the Making Miss Chief event, this is a scene from Another Feather In Her Bonnet | Miss Chief Eagle Testickle & Jean Paul Gaultier. The short film captures Miss Chief’s faux 2017 wedding to the fashion designer at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts. See it on the Kent Monkman Studio’s YouTube channel.

A full house burst into rapturous applause after Kent Monkman’s presentation on October 9, organized by the Saint Mary’s Department of Anthropology. There were two standing ovations: one for the artist himself, another for his two-spirit alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a time-travelling central figure in many of his paintings, videos and performance art pieces.

Held in the Paul O’Regan Hall at Halifax Central Library, the “Making Miss Chief” event was presented in partnership with the Office of the Indigenous Student Advisor, Saint Mary's University Art Gallery and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Public Affairs (CCEPA).

Monkman treated the crowd of nearly 300 to the first “test run” of a few chapters from his forthcoming book of Miss Chief’s memoirs, to be published in 2020 by McClelland & Stewart. Written with his longtime collaborator Gisèle Gordon, the book emerged from his solo exhibition Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, which was on view at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) last fall and is now in Winnipeg before heading to Vancouver in the spring.

In the exhibition and the book, Miss Chief serves as the guide on a journey to unpack North American art history “as it’s told through settler culture,” focusing on themes of resilience, sexuality, loss and perceived notions of Indigenous experiences. Among the highlights Monkman shared with his Halifax audience was Miss Chief’s origin story, as depicted in his 2018 artwork Being Legendary.

“I created Miss Chief in 2004 to be this really badass character to reverse the colonial gaze,” he said. Using a broad spectrum of tools ranging from humour to serious critique, the larger goal is to “decolonize Canada … Miss Chief has just become this force.”

The character’s wardrobe took some inspiration from the singer Cher, said Monkman, a fan since his childhood in Winnipeg, where he was the youngest of three brothers who played hockey. “I was terrible at hockey. My act of rebellion was to ask for a Cher wig for my 10th birthday. I got a hockey jersey,” he recalled.

Monkman wrapped up his talk with a screening of Another Feather In Her Bonnet | Miss Chief Eagle Testickle & Jean Paul Gaultier. The short video captures Miss Chief’s faux wedding ceremony to the famous fashion designer, September 8, 2017 at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts. The museum had taken some heat for a headdress piece in an exhibition by Gaultier, which was seen as cultural appropriation, and so invited Monkman to develop an artistic response. 

A member of the Fisher River Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba, Monkman currently lives and works in Toronto. He has achieved international recognition, with many solo exhibitions at museums and galleries in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, and screenings at international film festivals. Miss Chief has been at centre stage for site-specific performances at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, Compton Verney and the Denver Art Museum.

Find out more about Monkman and get a closer look at his artworks online at www.kentmonkman.com. If you haven’t seen his painting Miss Chief’s Wet Dream, be sure to visit AGNS, which purchased the monumental artwork in 2018. His newest projects include mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People), commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, to hang in its Great Hall starting on December 19, 2019.

Celebrating Mi’kmaq History Month

October is Mi’kmaq History Month in Nova Scotia. Mi’kmaq History Month builds awareness of Mi’kmaq history and heritage, and celebrates Mi’kmaq culture.

Mikmaq History Month Poster 2019. Learn more about the meaning behind the poster here.

In 1993, Mi’kmaw Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy and Premier John Savage declared October as the official month to recognize and celebrate Mi’kmaw culture and heritage.

October 1, Treaty Day, marks the beginning of Mi'kmaq History Month. There are a variety of events occurring this month on campus and all across Nova Scotia.

Here are some of the events taking place on campus:

• A presentation from renowned artist Kent Monkman: Making Miss Chief on October 9 at 7 p.m.

• A drum making workshop on October 16.

• The Mi’kmaw Gala on October 19 at 5:30 p.m.

For more information on events taking place across campus, visit the SMU events calendar or contact Raymond Sewell, Saint Mary’s Indigenous Student Advisor.

A list of events occurring across Nova Scotia can be found on the Mi’kmaq History Month events calendar. More information on the month can be found here.

Saint Mary's signs MOU with the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre

SMU Indigenous Student Advisor Raymond Sewell; Saint Mary’s President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, Pam Glode-Desrochers, Executive Director of the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre; Elder Debbie Eisan; and Tom Brophy, Senior Director, Student Affairs & Services.

Saint Mary’s has taken another step forward on the path towards reconciliation.

This month Dr. Rob Summerby-Murray and Pam Glode-Desrochers, Executive Director of the Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre (MNFC) signed an important MOU that strengthens connection and collaboration between the two organizations.

The Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre helps provide social-based programming for Urban Aboriginal People and serves a focal point for the urban Aboriginal community to gather. The new MOU creates a partnership that will see Saint Mary’s consult the Friendship Centre on the development of appropriate protocols for on-campus activities and enhancing support for Indigenous students, faculty and staff.

Another key part of the agreement is that the MNFC will provide an Elder on Campus four hours per week, a role now being filled by Elder Debbie Eisan.

Elder Debbie Eisan was on hand for the signing and told the group that Indigenous students at local highschools are increasingly aware of the work happening at Saint Mary’s and appreciate knowing that Indigenous Student Advisor Raymond Sewell is available to them.

“We are really excited about how the MOU articulates the mutual desire to strengthen connections between Saint Mary’s University and the Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre,” says Tom Brophy, Senior Director, Student Affairs and Services. “It opens the door for the MNFC to provide support and advice to Saint Mary’s as we move to continue to improve the experience of the Indigenous students and Indigenous culture on campus broadly.”

“I am delighted that we have taken this important step together,” said Dr. Summerby-Murray. “Saint Mary’s is looking forward to the many opportunities to collaborate on Indigenous-related programming, Indigenous-focused projects, research and of course enhancing learning opportunities for Indigenous students.”

An official celebration of the MOU signing is being planned for fall 2019.

Honorary Degree: Senator Dan Christmas

Senator Dan Christmas

Senator Dan Christmas has served in various leadership positions in the Mi’kmaw Nation of Nova Scotia. After serving five years as the Band Manager for the Community of Membertou, Senator Christmas worked for the Union of Nova Scotia Indians for 15 years—the last ten as its Director.   He was actively involved in the recognition and implementation of Mi’kmaw aboriginal and treaty rights in Nova Scotia. 

From 1997 to 2016, Senator Christmas held the position as Senior Advisor with Membertou and had assisted the Chief and Council and its Management Team with the day-to-day operations of the Community of Membertou.   Senator Christmas also served as elected councilor for Membertou for 18 years.  

Senator Christmas has been active in a number of international, national, provincial and local agencies in a wide range of fields including aboriginal & treaty rights, justice, policing, education, health care, human rights, adult training, business development and the environment.   

In 2005, Senator Christmas was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University and an honorary diploma from the Nova Scotia Community College in 2016.  In 2008, he was the recipient of the National Excellence in Aboriginal Leadership Award from the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada. 

In December 2016, Senator Christmas was sworn in as an Independent Senator for Nova Scotia.  Senator Christmas is the first Mi’kmaw senator to be appointed to the Senate of Canada.

Sharing the sacred fire: Ceremonial sweat lodge on campus

Participating in the first sweat lodge ceremony on campus at Saint Mary’s was an unforgettable way to wrap up the school year for a small group of students.

“It’s a really special experience, that’s for sure,” said John Morrison, an Anthropology major, shortly after emerging from the two-hour ceremony on Monday, April 15.

The sweat lodge structure was built the day before on the lawn behind The Oaks, using wood and rocks gathered in the area. For several hours prior to the ceremony, rocks were heated in the sacred fire pit, then moved into the lodge, where water was poured onto them to create steam. 

“It was a very calming experience being in there,” Criminology major Mary Rice said during a group lunch afterwards. “It was really hot but I was just focusing on putting my energy into the praying and healing. What helped me get through the heat was the people I was praying for; they’re going through a hard time so I can go through the heat for a little while to send them healing thoughts.”  

Raymond Sewell, SMU’s Indigenous Student Advisor, said students have long been inquiring about having a sweat lodge on campus so it was nice to see it become a reality this week.

Over the past term in the Indigenous Peoples of Canada course, students had been learning about cultural and historical challenges for Indigenous Peoples The course is taught by Professors Trudy Sable and Roger Lewis and one of their guest speakers was NSCC’s Indigenous Student Advisor Gary Joseph, a Cree Elder married to a Mi’kmaw woman from Shubenacadie. During his class presentation, Joseph guided students through a mock sweat lodge experience.

“The students really liked it and felt it showed the resilience of Indigenous cultures healing and moving forward given the painful and often unrecognized history they had been learning and discussing in class,” said Dr. Sable. Students expressed an interest in trying the real thing, which took some advance coordination but it came together with help from Sewell and his father, as well as Joseph, plus funding from the Office of the Vice-President Academic & Research.

“This just seemed like an opportune time and an experiential continuation of our class. There is a lot of interest to do more of them,” said Dr. Sable. The sweat lodge will remain on campus for a year and Sewell looks forward to coordinating future events.

Joseph provided some context around the elements of Monday’s ceremony: “Some of our ancestors a long time ago who signed agreements with other nations, one of the comments that often came of that treaty process was ‘we’re doing this for as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow’. When we make the sacred fire, we’re making a connection with the fire of your spirit and the fire of the sun. When you make these ceremony lodges, the grass is also part of the ribs of Mother Earth, so we’re acknowledging Mother Earth. And the water of course, we’re born from water, we’re breathing water, and water is 80 per cent of our body, so we share the water.”

Stephanie Dionne, an Anthropology major, strongly encouraged other students to try out the sweat lodge when the opportunity arises again. It’s an important addition to the campus as a welcoming space for Indigenous students, but also as a helpful gateway to intercultural study for other students, she said.

“It’s a starting point to broader understanding. I feel like it’s giving us a window into the life of other people,” said Dionne. 

Saint Mary’s University announces new Indigenous advisory council

Saint Mary’s University is pleased to announce the creation of the President’s Advisory Council on Indigenous Affairs.  

“As an institution, we are committed to advancing support for Indigenous students, and strengthening connections to the community,” said Saint Mary’s University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray.  “The advice and guidance of the council will be a great resource for the university.”

The following is a list of the members of the President’s Advisory Council on Indigenous Affairs:

• Chief Bob Gloade, BComm’93, Chief of the Millbrook First Nation (and member of the Saint Mary’s University Board of Governors);

• Dr. Donald Julien, DCL ’17, the Executive Director of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq;

• Pamela Glode-Desrochers, Executive Director of the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre;

• Jarvis Googoo, BA’05, the Director of Health for the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Secretariat and a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society; and

• Ann Sylliboy, the Post-secondary Consultant for Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewe.

The appointment of the advisory council marks another stage in Saint Mary’s commitment to reconciliation and the university’s response to the federal report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The council provides an external viewpoint for Indigenous supports on campus, and Indigenous issues facing the post-secondary sector. The council will provide a place for dialogue, insight and engagement for the president from members of Nova Scotia’s Indigenous communities and will meet periodically throughout the year.

Saint Mary’s collaboration with Innu Nation seen in documentary film screening

The rain could not keep a full house away from Halifax Central Library’s Paul O'Regan Hall on Nov. 3, 2018. Saint Mary’s faculty, Innu Nation, and members of the local community came to hear the story of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Innu Nation. The documentary screening of “Nakatuenita: Respect,” was co-produced by Richard Nuna, Innu Nation, and Dr. Trudy Sable, Community Conservation Research Network - Saint Mary's University and directed by filmmaker Kent Martin. 

The evening began with a traditional Mi’kmaw prayer by Mi’kmaw elder Thomas Christmas and Mi’Kmaw song to welcome participants onto traditional Mi’kmaq territory. Innu Nation’s Grand Chief, Gregory Rich, Dr. Trudy Sable, Saint Mary’s Community Engaged Research Facilitator and Saint Mary’s Vice-President, Dr. Malcolm Butler also welcomed the crowd.

Throughout the screening you could hear engaged asides between front-row members of the crowd.. The film – which ended in a standing ovation – tells the story of Ntesinan, a once peaceful territory where Innu families lived in tents, hunted for survival, and learned “Nutshimit” (country) skills and the fragile relationship between humans and animals from their elders. Their culture is one of respect – respect for the land, plants, animals and each other.

Although the memories of the past remain strong, the Innu now adapt to cultural and spiritual disruption. In the mid 20th century, they were forced to settle into communities by the governments and the church.  A significant part of their territory (later flooded by The Churchill Falls Hydro Project) changed the great falls known to the Innu as “Mista Shipu” forever.

“This film is a very powerful and moving testament to the impact that resettlement, development and climate change has had on Indigenous culture and communities,” said Dr. Butler.

Successful in taking control of their schools in 2009 and income support two years ago, the Innu look to the future of their land, social services, schools and government.

“Their resilience has amazed me in the face of so many forces that have tried to undermine who they are as a people, deeply and spiritually connected to their lands and to the animals. We have much to learn about how to truly work together in collaboration and mutual benefit,” said Dr. Sable.

In the meantime, the answer for Grand Chief Gregory Rich is clear.

“The film is a message of the struggle today for the Innu people. Our connection is to the lands, to the animals, and it has been our culture for many, many years. I know we can not go back to how it was before, but to be part of the land and the animals is the answer to our struggles, Ntesinan,” said Grand Chief Rich.

October is Mi’kmaq History Month

October is Mi’kmaq History Month in Nova Scotia. Mi’kmaq History Month builds awareness of Mi’kmaq history and heritage, and celebrates Mi’kmaq culture.

In 1993, Premier John Savage and Mi’kmaw Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy declared October as the official month to recognize and celebrate Mi’kmaw culture and heritage.

October 1, Treaty Day, marks the beginning of Mi'kmaq History Month. There are a variety of events occurring this month on campus and all across Nova Scotia.

Here are some of the events taking place on campus:

• A tour at the art gallery of #callresponse on Wednesday, October 3 at 12 p.m.

• The SMU Indigenous Blanket Exercise on Friday, October 5 at 10 a.m.

• The Mi'kmaq Flag Raising taking place on Thursday, October 11 at 12 p.m.

For more information on events taking place across campus, visit the SMU events calendar.

The complete list of events occurring across Nova Scotia can be found on the Mi’kmaq History Month events calendar. More information on the month can be found here.

Highlights from the Saint Mary's Indigenous Gala

On Saturday, March 10, the Saint Mary's University Indigenous Students Society celebrated the Indigenous Cultures of Turtle Island!

The celebrations included live performances by Indigenous people drumming, dancing, singing, and more.

Dr. Val Marie Johnson helps repatriate Inuit cultural materials in the Northwest Territories

Dr. Val Marie Johnson

Earlier this month, with funding from the Saint Mary's University Dean of Research and Dean of Arts, Dr. Val Marie Johnson—of the newly created Department of Social Justice & Community Studies—undertook a Community Research Outreach trip to Inuvik and Aklavik, in the homelands of the Inuvialuit and Gwich’in peoples in the Northwest Territories.

The principal purpose of Dr. Johnson’s trip was to share with community members her historical research on Shingle Point Eskimo Residential School, which operated in the region from 1929 to 1936, and to negotiate the return of copies of archival material documenting the School’s students and staff.

The materials shared with community members included many photos of the School’s students and staff, students’ colouring and drawings, staff and student letters, and School records on students. Dr. Johnson discovered the material in her research on relations between white women staff and Inuvialuit, Inuinnait, Iñupiat, and Gwich’in students and staff at the School.

"It's the living history of this region," Dr. Johnson told CBC North Radio while she was in Inuvik. "My desire is to have this material accessible to people whose living history this involves, as much as possible."

This cultural repatriation of the material is being arranged by collaboration between Dr. Johnson, the Anglican Church of Canada General Synod Archives in Toronto, where the material is now housed, and the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre in Inuvik. The Anglican Church operated the School.

Dr. Johnson also visited with community Elders and descendants of former Shingle Point students, and hosted community events in Inuvik and Aklavik about her research, the materials, and the plans for their new accessibility to community members in the region.

Raymond Sewell joins Saint Mary’s as full-time Indigenous Student Advisor

Saint Mary’s University is pleased to announce that Raymond Sewell has joined the university as the institution’s first full-time Indigenous student advisor.

“At Saint Mary’s University, we are committed to improving the educational experience of all our students,” said Saint Mary’s president Robert Summerby-Murray. “In response to our own task force on Indigenous students and the federal report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, we recognize that universities have a significant role to play. We are acting to foster an environment that reflects the important cultures, histories and traditions of Indigenous students.”

The Indigenous student advisor is responsible for supporting and engaging Indigenous students at Saint Mary’s University. Sewell will develop programming and services for Indigenous students; make connections to facilitate the transition of Indigenous students to university; and develop culturally respectful programming to engage Indigenous students in campus life throughout their university career.

Sewell is a Saint Mary’s alumnus who completed his Master of Arts in Atlantic Canada Studies in 2014. From the Pabineau First Nation in New Brunswick, Sewell has experienced firsthand the transition from a First Nation’s community to university in a new city.

“For many students coming from Indigenous communities, university can be a big transition. You are leaving behind your community and family and coming to a new city.  It can be a bit of a culture shock,” said Sewell. “Part of my role will be helping students with that change, but also providing more general support to make sure that they have the tools they need to be successful at Saint Mary’s.” 

Sewell will join Saint Mary’s in his new role today, Sept. 18.