Returning Home (Churchill Station)
Above the wing there is a clothes line with red dresses blowing in the wind, this is a direct reference to Métis Artist Jaime Black’s piece the REDress Project. The presence of the red dresses hanging in various locations across Canada has become an iconic art piece that draws much needed attention to the innumerable Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. In our piece ‘Returning Home’ the red dresses morph into red birds flying into the night sky and eventually become the stars, as though the souls of our sisters are returning home to the great mystery.
Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society is a group of local Indigenous and Métis grandmothers who have compiled stories and wisdom into a calendar that celebrates the accomplishments of Indigenous women in a historical timeline, and through centering their perspectives in the publication itself. It is meant to lift up and inspire these women’s spirits, and their relations.
The second of the pieces, (the blank/flat wall) is a continuation of the moon phases with the birds flying into the night sky, turning into stars.
Jamie Black’s REDress Project focuses around the issue of missing or murdered Aboriginal women across Canada. It is an installation art project based on an aesthetic response to this critical national issue. The project has been installed in public spaces throughout Canada and the United States as a visual reminder of the staggering number of women who are no longer with us.
As water and the moon are directly associated with women we wanted to incorporate those elements, throughout the piece, in the form of the river and the moon cycles. We would like to emphasize these feminine elements as a way to honour both the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and the Watching and Protective Grandmother, two ideas that were strongly expressed in the engagement sessions and resonated deeply with us.
Okîsikow (Angel) Way was originally unveiled in Edmonton on June 14, 2011. The sign blade, designed by Gloria Neapetung, an Indigenous artist and activist, honours women who have experienced violence and is a reminder that victims of domestic violence have safe places in Edmonton to seek shelter and support. Edmonton is the fifth city in Canada with an Okîsikow (Angel) Way.
Reclaiming Power and Place: The National Inquiry’s Final Report into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
Stolen Brothers and Sisters Awareness Movement is an Edmonton-based grassroots advocacy movement taking action and raising awareness on the human rights crisis of Missing, Murdered and Exploited Indigenous People (MMEIP).
Returning Home Interpretive Panel / Artist Statement