Introducing the ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ Artists ~ Jerry Whitehead
(Artist Jerry Whitehead (r) with mosaic fabricators Erin Pankratz (l) and Karen Klassen (centre) at amiskwaciy Academy - photo, E. Pankratz)
ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ - Edmonton’s Indigenous Art Park opens this fall. The park features artworks by Mary Anne Barkhouse, Duane Linklater, Amy Malbeuf, Marianne Nicolson, and Tiffany Shaw-Collinge, and is near completion. In anticipation of the park opening, the YEGArts Blog is featuring conversations with the artists about their artworks and the inspirations behind them.
Today we feature Jerry Whitehead, a Vancouver-based Cree artist from the James Smith First Nation in Saskatchewan. His artwork is called mamohkamatowin (Helping Each Other)
(Both turtles installed at ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ and awaiting final landscaping - photo, C. Boida)
Edmonton Arts Council: How did you approach creating mamohkamatowin for the park? What inspired you?
When I looked at it, I liked the fact ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ is a park within a park – a little island. Then I wondered what I could do to make it interesting and I started thinking about the Cree creation story, which is like all Indigenous creation stories because they think of North America as Turtle Island. This got me thinking about turtles. I also had worked on a project in Vancouver where we did a big long retaining wall with mosaics in it – so I had that knowledge, then I thought, “I can paint, I can incorporate mosaics, because the turtle carries a mosaic on his back; he carries stories. They are one of the oldest creatures on earth, so if the turtles could talk, imagine the stories they could tell!”
(”Mother” Turtle installed - photo, C. Boida)
The workshop that was held for the shortlisted artists in October 2015 really gave me direction on the kinds of things I should put on the turtles. I didn’t want to put just “my art” on them. By getting all the Elders and knowledge holders together to talk to the artists, it really opened all kinds of possibilities for me!
EAC: You collaborated with high school students from Edmonton’s amiskwaciy Academy on the work. How did that come about?
That was funny! I was staying at the Nova Hotel, which is about a five-minute walk from the school. My friend was driving me around and said, ‘Hey, you know there’s a high school back here?’ So, we came over really quickly, and had a quick chat with Lloyd [Bloomfield], the Vice Principal at the time, and he said OK, they were happy to accommodate the project. Things just kept happening to connect us – it was a good thing. I love this school.
(Detail of pow wow dancer waiting for grout - photo, EAC)
EAC: How does mamohkamatowin fit in with your body of work?
I’ve been painting pow wow dancers for so long – they were such an important part of my childhood. You can see them throughout the art on both turtles. I’ve placed them at the bottom, so you are looking up at them. Everything that involves dancing, and that life, I think it just fits in with what’s being told about Edmonton. Dances tell stories, it’s storytelling.
EAC: Why did you choose mamohkamatowin as the title?
The whole project worked because people were helping each other continuously, throughout the process from the beginning. People helped me out at every stage; from the proposal writing, to the project management and fabrication. Even the project finale was at the school, getting the students involved. All of us involved at amiskwaciy Academy (including Elders, principals, tile artists) wanted to instil that in the students, how helping each other gets big things accomplished.
(”Baby” turtle installed - photo, C. Boida)
EAC: What does the orientation and placement of the turtles represent?
I thought of the river. The baby turtle, is facing north toward the river, but what I found [when I looked at a map] is it’s almost facing directly towards amiskwaciy [Academy]. The mother turtle is facing west toward the ocean. Each are facing water, but what I really like is that directional connection with the high school.
EAC: Could you walk us through the imagery on the turtles?
For the baby turtle, when I first came here last year to start him off, I didn’t really have a plan – I knew I wanted the kids to help out, but it can be tricky to coordinate them. [To come up with the plan] I borrowed the school logo and changed it up a bit. So, you could say the small turtle is dedicated to all the kids who helped out
We started out with a tiny baby turtle on top of the baby turtle, he helps to divide the “shell” into four sections
(South quadrant of the baby turtle - photo, C. Boida)
The red section faces south, and it represents the Métis people. You can see their flag, and the Elder suggested we put in some bear paws. There’s Métis imagery with the Red River Wagon and fiddle.
(Eastern quadrant of the baby turtle - photo, C. Boida)
Then we move to the east, which is the eagle. This section still has the paws in it. The eagle must always be on the east side.
(Northern face of the baby turtle - photo, C. Boida)
Moving to the north, is the buffalo on a white background. We added in the buffalo tracks and the skull. The Elder suggested we have the skull – because this is like the altar. In Native spirituality you see when they pray or have a sweat lodge, there’s a skull there.
(West face of the baby turtle - photo, C. Boida)
Toward the west are eagle feathers – they symbolize what the students have achieved when they complete their schooling here. This is where I started incorporating my dancers from babies into adults, and back again.
The large turtle is the mother turtle – her shell is also divided into four sections. The art on this turtle is more sophisticated – it’s been created with my assistants Erin Pankratz and Karen Klassen.
(Sweat lodge imagery on the mother turtle - photo, C. Boida)
The first thing we put on at the top, was the sweat lodge, the foundation of Native spirituality. Everything revolves around the sweat lodge.
(East side of mother turtle - photo, C. Boida)
Toward the east, we have the eagle again, going into the sweat lodge, with the Northern Lights below, and then my dancers come in again. The three pyramids are actually teepees signifying my three sons. Like a lot of artists, I use symbols to show how many children I have – so the number three comes up a lot. The dancers in this section are all different colours and they signify Edmonton – all the different ethnic groups here.
(South quadrant of mother turtle - photo, C. Boida)
The dancers keep moving into the next section, and here I incorporated some lettering [into their clothes]. I spelled tansi, which means ‘hello’ in Cree. This is the south side of the turtle, so we put in the woodpecker, which is symbolic of the Papaschase people, the original inhabitants of this place.
(Thunderbird and the creation of the world, west face of mother turtle - photo, C. Boida)
Continuing on to the west, we have the thunderbird. This is the creation of the earth – this is one of the stories Jerry Saddleback was telling – how the earth was formed, with lightning.
(Detail of the north-facing quadrant showing a spoon and arrowheads nestled in the archeological strata - photo, C. Boida)
At the workshop for the shortlisted artists in 2015, we all went on a river valley walk with Dr. Dwayne Donald from the U of A. He took us along the river bank and showed us the layers of sediment along the bank. The top part is recent Edmonton history – we included some bricks in there and a spoon. Then below this line on the lower level we have a couple of arrow heads to suggest the old history.
(North quadrant showing a beaver on the riverbank - photo, C. Boida)
We also put in a really colourful beaver here. All his colours refer to Edmonton and how diverse it is. He’s drinking some water and just enjoying himself!
These are meant for kids to interact with. Once they’re installed they’ll be the perfect height for kids to sit on and they can gently climb on the turtles’ backs.
