Geordie Nelson
My art piece represents my understanding of Indigenous Perspectives that I have learned last semester. In the centre is an image of the New Brunswick anti-fracking protest with a woman kneeling with a feather, the symbol of peace. This represents how we are opposing their culture. To the sides I have what Indigenous Peoples value; on the left is holistic farming and care of the Earth and to the right pristine wilderness and the value and sacredness they give to the place. Along the sides are evergreen trees representing the land with what we have done super-imposed upon that. To the left is a residential school and how we have tried to undermine and suppress their culture. To the right is an oil pump-jack representing how our society has been destroying the land. To the middle I have a drum-singer representing their culture and the focal point is the Idle No More symbol of a red fist holding a feather behind a sun. The dualism of the fist and the feather shows their power through solidarity and self-determination through the fist while the feather represents how they wish to do this in a peaceful approach.
The idea really spoke to me when I first saw the image of Micmaq woman kneeling in front of the police officers and my idea expanded from there. The woman was praying as the police pushed the people back and eventually walked around her and kept pushing the other Micmaqs further down the road. Being a visual person this is how I was able to represent my understandings of Indigenous perspectives last semester.
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