World renowned Métis artist activates caring for art and nature in North Bay students
By Kelly Anne Smith
NORTH BAY – Christi Belcourt treated students and staff of Mother St. Bride Elementary School to a day of art, culture and history.
She is a Métis artist and an author whose clan is from Spirit Lake who now lives in Espanola. Belcourt is featured in the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and at Centre Block on Parliament Hill. She also designed the PanAm / ParaPan Medals for the Toronto 2015 Games.
The Métis artist has been copied by the design house Valentino for the fashion 2016 season. Now she is using her success to reach children to inspire them.
Nipissing First Nations members Glenna Beaucage and Delores Chum drum in the guest of honor accompanied by the schoolchildren. The children honored her by singing a water song.
During her talk to a gym full of attentive children, Belcourt seemed to be planting the seeds of caring for nature into the children themselves.
She told the children she cared about clean water and Mother Earth. Belcourt showed her activism through slides depicting the 2013 project Walking with My Sister’s. She hoped for women to take part in the project by sending her the tops of their moccasins called vamps, the decorated piece. Belcourt had over 1800 women send her vamps specially decorated for the project. Many had moving messages or actual memorials to women lost to violence.
Belcourt had wise messages for the students. “Think about your grandmas and past ancestors; those who worked hard so you can be with us now.”
She told the children that we are surrounded by water. Belcourt says she has always had a relationship with the land. Her art is nature how she sees it.
She explained her magical painting of a sturgeon with frogs. “This painting is acknowledging the water is all around us. It comes from a dream I had. I visualized this.” In her dream, the sturgeon turned to Belcourt and said, “I miss the frogs.”
The artist had the children mesmerized as she said that the Sturgeon is waiting for the frogs to sing. “It takes a sturgeon about 25 years before they will spawn. We have changed the environment so there is little clean water. A 95-year-old grandpa told me there are not as many frogs.”
“I want clean water, everyone agreed?” All of the kids’ hands shot up.
There was much planning leading up to Belcourt’s visit. The Native Art and Culture Integration Classes had many children creating dot art with a write-up. Student Dreden Winfield wrote, “I like nature too. It reminded me of my camp. There are plenty of beautiful scenes and it is such a peaceful place.”
French teacher Sacha Stevens taught the students about dot art based on Belcourts teachings. “Our classes have been studying her works, along with several other Native artists, for months.”
Students have been learning Anishnaabemowin with teacher Tory Fisher in the Native Second Language course as well.
The acclaimed visual artist Belcourt offered several art classes during her day long visit to Mother St. Bride Elementary School.