Hello everyone! I am back after a half break, my family and community are still recovering and healing from our losses. It is unfortunately too common an experience of indigenous folks to experience so much loss. To go to more funerals than weddings, to be in constant mourning from a young age. I am grateful to have a community and mundane job that understands.
When we talk about reconciliation and inclusion, these factors are ones that we need to consider. It was not until I was in university, in my mid/late 20’s that I realized many of my peers had never experienced the death of a friend or close family member.
As indigenous people we are not only under threat of death from institutional racism. So many of us are living with intergenerational poverty, health problems, and isolation from potable water, healthcare, education etc.The effects of generations of colonization in so many forms does not just come to a full stop once one leaves the reserve, or we somehow rise up from the poverty line.
This is one of the reasons I have made an effort to shift my practice to focus more on joy, to celebrate indigenous beauty, creativity and humour. And why I will be including some moments of Indigenous Joy as bonus pictures in my posts for the rest of my digital residency.
The second image is of me and two of my favourite people in the world, my little sister Steph queenalphabetties and
@deadliestdebbie . Buntzen lake is one of my favourite places, I feel most at home in the water, and we have had so much fun taking our snacks and floaties with us out to those islands.
Image description included in caption.
Image credit
@twospirittrickster
#ravenjohn #twospirittrickster #hammockresidency #indigenousartist #decolonizeandmoisturize #nothingaboutuswithoutus #twospiritart #twospiritedart #twospirit #twospirited #aesthetic #gamer #installation #performance #sculpture #queer #queerart #disabilityawareness #disabilityisnotabadword #kkkanada #decolonize #n8ivepride #ndn #eastvan #thedrive #vancouver #unceded #coastsalish #stolo #bhfyp