Walking with Our Sisters

Walking With Our Sisters is a commemorative art installation of over 1,763 moccasin vamps. This art installation was created to remember and honor missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Each pair of moccasin vamps, also known as tops represents one missing or murdered Indigenous woman from North America.

Project

Walking With Our Sisters exhibition in the Shingwauk Auditorium at Algoma University in 2014

The Walking With Our Sisters project was initiated by Métis artist Christi Belcourt to acknowledge the grief families of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) suffer with, to raises awareness of MMIW and to create opportunities for a discourse in which the issue can be acknowledged across communities in Canada and the United States.^[1] This project began in June 2012 with lead organizer Belcourt using social media to invite people to create moccasin tops in memory of Missing and Murdered Women. By July 25, 2013 more than 1,600 vamps had been mailed to Belcourt far surpassing the initial goal of 600. Over 200 individuals from around the world contributed to the project. At last count over 1,725 pairs of vamps have been donated to this project. They were created by a 1,372 artists, 331 from the United States, 9 from countries outside of North America, and 1,385 from Canada.^[2] In addition to the moccasin vamps sixty audio recordings were submitted. These songs have been compiled and are played as visitors go throughout the exhibits.^[3]

In 2014 the project expanded to include 108 pairs of children's moccasin vamps in memory of children who died or went missing while attending a residential school .^[4] The children's vamps were added to the exhibition through a similar social media call to the one used at the start of the original project. Families and residential school survivors were encouraged to contribute children's vamps in memory of a loved one. This addition to the project occurred when the Walking With Our Sisters was at Algoma University, which is located on the site of the former Shingwauk Indian Residential School. A ceremony was held as part of the exhibition programming to honor the children being remembered through this initiative and to add the children's vamps to the exhibition.^[5]

The exhibition is currently being made available to the public through selected galleries across North America.

Walking With Our Sisters Collective

The installation schedule and community outreach for the Walking With Ours Sisters exhibition is managed by a volunteer collective. The work of the collective is overseen by Maria Campbell, an Elder and advisor on traditional protocol. Other core collective members include: Christi Belcourt, Tanya Kappo (Communications), and Erin Konsmo (Two-Spirit/Communications/Youth Programming).^[6]

The community support team of the collective includes: Tracy Bear, Lisa Periard, Lisa Shepherd, and Tara Kappo.^[7] The support team works with local host organizations to help with regional programming, installation of the exhibit, and on the ground support during the installation. The tour schedule is managed by Christine King and family support is provided by Laurie Ojick. General Project advisors include: Tony Belcourt, Gregory A. Scofiled, Nathalie Bertin, and Shane Belcourt (film and web advisor).^[6]

Curatorial team volunteers include: Sherry Farrell Racette, Ryan Rice, and Maria Hupfield.^[8] Publication volunteers include: Kim Anderson, Kara Louttit, Doreen Roman, Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing, and the Gabriel Dumont Institute who is a book partner for publishing. Tracie Louttit and Jodi Stonehouse are part of a volunteer film crew for the project.^[6]

Exhibition

During the exhibit the installation space is considered a traditional lodge space. Visitors to the exhibit are asked not to use cameras or other electronic devices, to remove their shoes, and to be smudged before entering the space. Each visitor is offered a tobacco tie to hold in the left hand, which is closest to the heart, before entering the exhibit area, which is covered in red cloth. Visitors move clockwise through the display area, and are asked to stay on the red cloth, not stepping on or over the vamps. At the end, they return the ties, which are later burned in a sacred fire. Native elders and volunteers are on hand to answer questions, or to hear visitors' impressions after the visit.^[9]

Exhibition locations have included:

2013

• University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. (October 2013)^[10]
• First Nations University Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan. (November 21 - December 13, 2013)^[11]

2014

• Tower Hill Museum in partnership with G'Zaagin Art Gallery, Parry Sound, Ontario. (January 10–26, 2014)^[12]
• Urban Shaman Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba. (March 21 - April 12, 2014)^[13]
• Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. (May 5–18, 2014)^[14]
• Elks Hall, Flin Flon, Manitoba. (June 23 - July 5, 2014)^[15]
• Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario. (September 19 - October 12, 2014)^[16]
• Saskatoon/Wanuskewin (October 31 - November 21, 2014)^[17]

2015

• Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (January 9–24, 2015)^[18]
• Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre, Whitehorse, Yukon (April 11–25, 2015)^[19]
• Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery, Red Deer, Alberta (June 1–21, 2015)
• I-Hos Gallery, K'omoks First Nation Band Hall. (July 31 - August 15, 2015)^[20]
• Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario (September 15 - October 16, 2015)^[21]
• Akwesasne First Nation, Akwesasne Mohawk Territory (November 6–26, 2015)^[22]

2016

• City of North Battleford Chapel Gallery, North Battleford, Saskatchewan (January 15 - February 7, 2016)^[23]
• Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba. (February 22 - March 6, 2016)^[24]
• Ziibiwing Centre of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways, Mount Pleasant, Michigan. (April 23 - May 7, 2016)^[25]

Our Sisters

Many organizations and communities have worked hard to raise awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada, and are calling for a National Inquiry of the issue which has been turned down by Canada's government because government officials believe that there has been enough studies done on the issue and another would be redundant.^[26] Researcher Maryanne Pearce has found that 80% of First Nations women who have gone missing or who have been found dead in North America were not involved in sex trade, which it a huge stereotype about these women and girls.^[27]

Stereotypes effects on Indigenous women

The erotic and sexualized image of Aboriginal women originated from early colonial days, when settlers would associate First Nations women with the virgin land through the use of image of the Indian Princess. The image of the Indian Princess was created by colonizers to show the European world what Aboriginal women were like, describing them as virginal, mysterious, and for the use of settlers, much like the land during this time; furthermore, this image created a belief among settler men that Indigenous women and the land, were theirs for the taking.^[28]

Soon the image of the Squaw-drudge was created to replace Indigenous womanhood with European womanhood by focusing on the fact that Aboriginal women worked alongside the men of their society, rather than them staying at home obeying their husband, similar to that of European society. This justified the colonialists coming into First Nations land and saving the women from being the drudges of their society.^[29] The image of Squaw grew into the idea that Indigenous women were dirty, lazy, and poor parents, allowing colonizers to cover up the inhumane conditions First Nations people were forced to live in, and allowed the Federal government to take away Indigenous children and place them in residential schools.Soon after the easy native and dirty squaw were created to justify violent acts done by white settlers to indigenous women, and enforcing the idea that interracial marriages to Indigenous women would affect the purity of the white race.

First Nations women, are exposed to sexual and violent threats from an early age as a result of these stereotypes, and because of this idea Indigenous women are viewed as sexually available regardless of consent.^[29] First Nations women have come to be treated as inherently rapeable under the assumption of Indigenous women being easy, and are considered more violable. These negative images have affected the lives of contemporary Indigenous women, and have prevented fair treatment within public institutions, which is why movements such as Walking With Our Sisters was created to ensure each of these women are represented and treated as human beings.

References