Current & Upcoming Exhibits
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January 4, 2019 - March 6, 2019
Vernon Public Art Gallery
Vernon Public Art Gallery
3228 31st Ave
Vernon, BC V1T 2H3
(250) 545-3173
info@vernonpublicartgallery.com
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http://www.vernonpublicartgallery.com/project/decolonizing-table-indigenous-food-sovereignty/
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Kama? Creative Aboriginal Arts Collective
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“Government Rations: Decolonizing Our Table”
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S?at qw(l)p Kama? Creative Aboriginal Arts Collective is composed of Okanagan Nation established and emerging artists who have joined together to advocate aboriginal interdisciplinary and multimedia arts development promotion, education/community development and production.
Our purpose is the to advance and promote traditional/contemporary art and culture through aboriginal media arts, fine arts, and performing arts. We strive to support creative communities through partnerships, public exhibitions, training, workshop facilitation, advanced media literacy skills. Kama? Collective supports the work of artists through project creation and production in all disciplines for the individual and collective. We advocate for upcoming, emerging, and established aboriginal artists through collaborative exhibitions, mentorships.
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Participating Artists: Sheldon Pierre Louis, Csetkwe Fortier, Pat Raphael Derrickson, Cori Derrickson, Wynnter Raphael, Krystal Withakay
EXHIBITION THEME:
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“Government Rations: Decolonizing Our Table”
Indigenous People’s knowledge and food systems are disappearing but are of the utmost importance, not only for sustaining Indigenous Peoples but also for providing alternative paradigms for coping with diverse ecosystems in a changing global environment.
“The social and economic values underlying the principles driving the government and economic institutions who are asserting full jurisdiction and control in land use management and planning (LUMP) are fundamentally rooted in a conflicting worldview that believes that humans are separate from and dominant over nature. The consequent disregard for Indigenous food values, principles and worldview in LUMP challenges people from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures to learn to communicate across cultures about how to protect, conserve and restore Indigenous ecosystems for the benefit of all. On a political level, Indigenous food sovereignty can be described as the act of counterbalancing the negative impact of contemporary land use that exclude Indigenous food values and economies and give priority to industrial economic activities.“
- ONA Food Sovereignty Workshop 2006
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“In the world before this world, before there were people, and before things were like they are now, everyone was alive and walking around like we do. All Creation was talking about the coming changes to their world. They had been told that soon a new kind of people would be living on this earth. Even they, the Animals and Plant people, would be changed. Now they had to decide how the People-To-Be would live and what they would eat. The four Chiefs were: Skimxist (Black Bear), Ntytikxw (King Salmon), Speetlum (Bitterroot) and Seeya (Saskatoon Berry). They held many meetings and talked for a long time about what the People-To-Be would need to live. All of the Chiefs thought and thought. “What can we give to the People-To-Be to eat that is already here on earth?” they asked one another. “There seems to be no answer.” Finally, the three other chiefs said to Skimxist, “You are the wisest and the oldest among us. You tell us what are you are going to do.” Skimxist said, “since you have all placed your trust in me, he said, “I will give myself and all the animals that I am Chief over, to be food for the People-To-Be.” Then he said to Ntytikxw, “what will you do?” Ntytikxw answered, “You are indeed the wisest among us. I will also give myself and all the things that live in the water as food for the People-To-Be.” Speetlum, who was Chief of all the roots under the ground said, “I will do the same.” Seeya was last. He said, “I will do the same. All the good things that grow above ground will be the food for the People-To-Be.” Chief Skimxist was happy because there would be enough food for the People-To-Be. He said, “Now I will lay myself down to make these things happen.” Because he was the greatest Chief and had given his life, all the People-That-Were (The Animal People) gathered and sang songs to bring him back to life. That was how they helped heal each other in that world. They all took turns singing but Skimxist did not come back to life. Finally, Fly came along. He said, “You laid your body down. You laid your life down.” His song was powerful. Skimxist came back to life. Then Fly told the four Chiefs, “When the People-To-Be are here and they take your body for food, they will sing this song. They will cry their thanks with this song.” Then Skimxist spoke for all the Chiefs, “From now on when the People-To-be come, everything will have its own song. The People-To-Be will use these songs to help each other as you have helped me.” That is how food was given to our people. That is how songs were given to our people. That is how giving and helping one another was and still is taught to our people. That is why we must respect even the smallest, weakest persons for what they can contribute. That is why we give thanks and honour to what is given to us.”
When discussing food sovereignty and food security we must begin incorporating Tradition Ecological Knowledge from our indigenous communities. We must ensure that such paths forward abide by natural law and cultural teachings. We must ask “What is Canada’s food policy and how does it represent Indigenous people?”. There is a growing need for food protection that is encompassed by and structured with indigenous knowledge and these policies must assert the needs of our tmixw (Four Food Chiefs), tmxwulaxw (Lands), siwɬkw (water), as well as the people who produce, distribute, and consume food so that they will be in control of the mechanisms and policies surrounded in food production and distribution, rather than the corporations and market institutions which dominate the global food system. It must also encompass the peoples right to healthy and culturally appropriate food and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems so that the food that is available and accessible for the population will fit with the cultural background of the people consuming it.
Today, syilx communities are noticing the diminishing health of the tmixw (Four Food Chiefs), tmxwulaxw (Lands), siwɬkw (Water), and us as syilx peoples. Just as the Four Food Chiefs gathered to discuss how the syilx peoples would all thrive in health, syilx peoples are now gathering today to discuss the same concern…how will our tmixw (Four Food Chiefs), tmxwulaxw (Lands), siwɬkw (Water), survive?