Dream Catching in Sandy Bay

With a mixture of excitement and curiosity we left Saskatoon on the long drive up to Sandy Bay in Northern Saskatchewan. My colleague and guide to the area was Maria, accompanied by her husband Carlos - our faithful chauffer and photographer.

            I made a conscious effort to remain open minded about meeting individuals from a completely different culture and heritage, and felt honoured to be part of the programme to work on the initial discussions which would form the foundations of the Young Artisans Co-operative. Sandy Bay is quite off the beaten track, which is usually where the best education can be found. Unlike the people I would be meeting, my personal sense of self through community and territory is spread over various countries, religions and cultures – France, Lithuania, Poland, Corsica and now England. I tried to imagine what it must be like to have an ancient rooted bond with the place you live thousands of years deep. These thoughts flowed through my mind as the prairie scenery rolled by, soon changing to pine trees surrounding lakes.

Staying in Slims Cabins with the fisherman on Churchill River, between Sandy Bay and Pelican Narrows. 

We are all aware of the destruction the first nations people experienced in what is now Canada due to human migration (politely put). The effects are complex, traumatic and broad. Political issues are on everyone's lips - rightly so. Art seems to be a way to express a choice in life (on the side of creation or destruction) silently and effectively as a parallel to the tireless scrutiny over band territory and legal rights, wrestling with the government over tribal sovereignty and shifting policies. Regardless, this art work continues - it never goes out of style or value. It's creative currency is appreciated by those who know how to put what they feel in to something and those who pick it up in their hands to care about it.

A special piece of work that took Ernest a year to complete. The 4 coloured feathers represent the 4 races of people in the world, and the animals our spiritual guides. The eagle symbolises strength. 

On meeting members of the community who came to the local centre to share their work and their time for this new project we were able to connect through a shared passion in craft, which spontaneously became a vehicle for sharing far more, with laughter and surprise. Stories about where we are from and what our lives are like now, similarities and differences, loves and losses gathered pace. Generosity filled the room and we ate ice cream over chats about how to home-smoke leather, which bark to use to get a lovely deep tan colour, and what costume will be donned for the next pow-wow.

Michelle McDonald with her daughter who is learning how to bead, passing on the long tradition from mother to daughter.

It took a little while to feel that we shared the same space and mind for these positive and life-giving engagements to flourish. But once that happened I felt a profound sense of belonging – not just in their community at that time, but also in my own – at home. It was as if being with them gave me clarity that I was on the right track with my approach to what I create back in the studio, who I align myself with to make it happen, and how I choose to weave all aspects of life I cherish in to what I produce. What will I make now of my own roots?

I soon recognised that this was about something far bigger than the moccasins I had originally intended to see and understand as objects in themselves, and rather about art or craft (they are the same to me) as an intrinsic part of cultural identity, land and Humanity.

Ernest McCallum and Charles Morin sharing their incredible work. Ernest paints and makes dreamcatchers and drums for the whole community, while Charles makes birch bark baskets for collecting berries.

             

What I’m left with now is a deeper understanding of how the spirit of a way of life in ALL areas materialises in the products that are created. After all, an end product is only as good as the spirit that goes in to it.

Adult and baby moccasins made by Elaine Bear in Pelican Narrows.

And the spirit that goes in to a product is determined by the strength of cultural identity of the maker. This doesn’t detract from an individual voice, but makes for a powerful well rounded creation. At least, that is how I can now identify attraction to a piece of work - whatever it may be.

I learnt about how prayers are woven in to dream-catchers. About beading techniques and painted drums used for dancing. What the Loon sounds like (a bird which is the Canadian symbol), and how it can take a year to create a piece of artwork because a vision is awaited. Both patience and trust in life – past, present and future is abundant.

Beaded Moose hide and Beaver mittens with other children's clothes, and Clifford's Mukluks - all made in Pelican Narrows.

More than ever I want to stay where I am, strengthen bonds personally by offering and trading what I produce seasonally in response to the environment, using local materials and techniques. I’m inspired to dig deep in to the land I’m on to find what treasures lay at the roots that I might stitch in to my shoes.

I’m excited about the next phase of my work, as what I’ve learnt and what is now embedded in my heart through the personal connections made with people living in a way I truly respect comes through my hands and in to my community.

When many people in the world are searching for meaning of personal Identity in their individual lives, I observed that individuals understood themselves through their environment and people. There is no separation. To enter in to that state of mind, with them on their land and in their way was an experience I’ll never forget. I take this with me back to my home and studio in Cornwall.

I’ve learnt that doing anything of itself as a particular activity; in my case making shoes, which is one of many things I’m passionate about, must represent the values I stand for in life in order that this spirit is embedded in the product and therefore meaningfully transferred to others.

It’s my hope that the culture I am co-creating affords a nurturing and gift economy rather than a monetary and destructive one for us on the the land we reside on and rely on for survival.

So what do you stand for where you are and where are you heading? Even if that means staying exactly where you are.  

Clifford Ray.
President of the Northern Saskatchewan Trappers Association Co-operative.
'Responsible Stewards of the land'