Musings of a Masters of Indigeneous Education Grad

Posts tagged ‘Klahowya Village’

Who says that is ‘authentic’ Aboriginal art? Rejoining the dialogue at Klahowya Village

I’m baaack! After getting ‘life’ in order over the last year, I’m ready to rejoin some dialogues and blur up the blogging world, lol.

Aboriginal Tourism BC’s Klahowya Village Tour Guide (Derek Lilly, left) takes me (right) and Aboriginal BEST Provincial Coordinator Bruce Lacroix (centre) on a walking tour of Aboriginal artisans, dancers and drummers in Stanley Park.

This post is inspired by a visit this Monday to  Klahowya Village, a wonderful cultural experience hosted by Aboriginal Tourism BC.  This pic from 2008 shows me (right), the provincial coordinator of the Aboriginal BEST program, Bruce Lacroix (middle), and an AtBC cultural guide, Derek Lilly (left) enjoying the shade of the tall cedars of the Coast Salish territories.

I recognized Derek in a group of Klahowya Village tour guides; he’d worked with Bruce and I the previous year when he came to Vancouver for the annual train-the-trainer program that Bruce coordinates in support of the Aboriginal BEST entrepreneurship and small business development program (www.aboriginalbest.com).  At the time, Derek was working in the Upper Similkameen Band in Hedley, BC as a guide for the Aboriginally-owned mining tour experience called ‘Mascot Mines.‘  It was wonderful to reconnect with Derek and to see him working hard to continue promoting Aboriginal business development for artisans and performers in the growing industry of cultural tourism!

Derek gave us a walking tour of Klahowya Village, its artisan booths, and the stage area where traditional drummers, storytellers, and dancers perform all summer.  He shared some cultural knowledge of the beautiful Coast Salish People and their traditional territories – the lands upon which Stanley Park is located. Then we jumped on the  Spirit Catcher Train to weave our way through Stanley Park, looking for Sasquatch and enjoying the wonderful Aboriginal art pieces strategically placed among the gorgeous lakes and tall cedars.   I’ve gone back to wander through the Village a few times since then, because whether by train, bike, wheelchair, stroller or foot,  experiencing Klahowya Village is both educational and exhilarating.

Mixed Emotions About Returning to Klahowya Village this year

Fire in Spirit Catcher Train building destroys artwork, tools but not spirits of Aboriginal Artisans

Fire in Spirit Catcher Train building destroys artwork, tools but not spirits of Aboriginal Artisans, photo provided by http://www.atbc.com

But this year, I returned to Klahowya earlier than anticipated.  An arsonist set fire to the Spirit Catcher Train departure building just after midnight only one day after the cultural exhibit opened for the summer this National Aboriginal Day (June 21st).   I was invited to attend the Cleansing and Healing Ceremony organized by AtBC and Coast Salish community leaders, and was amazed at the level of support for the artists and organizers.   Vancity immediately set up a donation fund and provided marketing support to raise awareness of the impact of the fire on the artists and Village (see link, bottom of this page).  Drummers and singers from various Coast Salish Nations came together to sing beautiful songs of peace, healing, forgiving and welcoming. The sound of their voices and drums seemed to echo through the dense forest, connecting us to the heartbeat of Mother Earth and reminding us all that we are just little parts of a bigger world.  We must all work together to protect nature – and Others – to create more harmonious relationships.

A group of women did traditional Healing Work, moving carefully around the space and the artists while using cedar boughs to ‘brush away’ any bad energy; they worked diligently to cleanse the area to make room for healing, new growth, and renewed prosperity. The speakers asked for prayers of forgiveness and healing for those who caused the damage – an inspiring concept in the spirit of Aboriginal transformative justice.

The Ceremony ended with words of gratitude from the organizers and host Nations, and it felt like the air had cleared somehow. Though I arrived that morning at Klahowya filled with mixed emotions of anger,  sadness and frustration, it’s safe to say that I left that afternoon with a sense of peacefulness and renewed hope.  =)

Inspired to Post

I also left inspired to write this story, because I had time to talk afterwards with Shain Jackson – an incredible Aboriginal artist, entrepreneur, and advocate for celebrating authenticity in Aboriginal art.  I’d met him briefly at the Native Education College fundraising dinner the week before, but didn’t get a chance to arrange an interview time. We’re revising the Aboriginal BEST Student Training Manual this summer  – so contact me, by the way, if you have ideas/comments/quotes/resource reviews you’d like to include!).

Shain Jackson Spirit Works Limited Sechelt Artist Aboriginal Authentic Art program


Shain Jackson is a Sechelt Nation artist, a member of AtBC, and owner of Spirit Works Ltd., developing and promoting an Aboriginal Authentic Art branding and certification program

Shain is a proud member of the shíshálh Nation (known by most people by its English name, the Sechelt Nation),  located along the West Coast of BC.   He is selling and displaying at Klahowya many of his carved bentwood boxes and unique jewelry pieces made at his Spirit Works studio and gallery.    After reading a blog post that Shain wrote explaining the importance for educators, consumers, and artists to join in the discussion about what is authentic Aboriginal art, who makes it, who decides what the criteria are to be considered ‘authentic’  of learning more about important topic…I realized that I could bring this issue to light through my social media sites, too.  Shain – who is also a laywer – wrote:

“Aboriginal Artists and businesses have grown wary of competing with art products which depict our designs but are supplied by non-Aboriginal companies and for the most part are produced overseas.  This practice is not only disingenuous to the buyers who would like to purchase something truly of our cultures, but it also redirects much needed resources away from some of the most marginalized and impoverished communities in the country.  This is a very serious social and economic issue which warrants immediate attention.

As individual Aboriginal artists, and as a group, we have begun a campaign aimed at gaining legislation to protect one of our most valuable sources of income; income which in the past has been instrumental in the survival of our people and our way of life.  Similar laws have been in place south of the border for 20 years in the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.

While we engage in this fight for recognition, in the meantime, as Aboriginal makers of truly Authentic Aboriginal Products (those designed, produced, and distributed by Aboriginal people) we have developed a symbol meant to address the issue.”  

See the logo that the group has chose to represent Authentic Aboriginal Art and read the full article in Shain’s full post called, “Aboriginal Authentic” (January 2010, http://trulyauthentic.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/aboriginal-authentic/#comment-204)

I agree completely with Shain, the AtBC team, and the hundreds of artists they have worked with to develop the Authentic Aboriginal Art brand – and legal framework to support their idea.   For about the last 11 years, I’m honoured to work with and learn from many diverse, talented Aboriginal artists  to help them better market/identify/explain their work, their processes, their culture, etc.  Note that when I say ‘we’ in this message, I carefully position myself and identify as a non-Aboriginal teacher and consultant who works with (and donates time to) many Aboriginal artists and cultural groups… and I constantly advocate for Aboriginal control over authenticity decisions and the promotion of their goods.  I see my role as an ally as someone who can (with your permission) stand beside you,  in front of you, and behind you to help get your voices and perspectives heard and better understood in classrooms and boardrooms.

I admire the artists’ calls to raise awareness of the (lack of) authentic art in the market – it sickens me to see cheap knock-offs and promotional pieces where companies appropriate/steal or just ‘buy’ rights to art… then don’t cite the artist/Nation/story, etc.   Shain voiced the views of many other artists, Aboriginal leaders and social justice advocates when he began making international headlines during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He and other artists publicly chastised VANOC and the Four Host First Nations group for using the term ‘Authentic Aboriginal’ on products that were not made byAboriginal artisans, and often not even made in Canada! As did many other news agencies, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) covered the story at .

The issue of cultural authenticity and appropriation popped up again this spring when American Outfitters was sued for promoting their ‘Navajo’ designs.  I followed many Facebook posts and blogs by people disgusted with AE’s insensitivity and disrespect for cultural knowledge, especially when they were asked (then ordered, by law) to remove the unearned reference.  I may write more about this to provide educators with some excellent resources examining the effects of cultural (mis)appropriation, because it was a concept I hardly understood until I had a better understanding of the colonial history of assimilation – and invite your ideas, too.

So what is ‘Authentic’ Aboriginal art?

I commented on the “Aboriginal Authentic” blog about the incredible work AtBC and the artists have done to create a three-level criteria for ‘authenticating’ Aboriginal artwork that is based on truth and transparency.  According to their WordPress post, to earn the “Authentic Aboriginal Product” label, the item for sale must meet the following criteria (according to

  1. Must be designed by an Aboriginal person – An Aboriginal person must have established the original design for the item being sold.  This means the artwork displayed on an item, in addition to the design of the item itself;
  2. Must be produced by Aboriginal people – This means that the item must have been created by the hands of an Aboriginal person.  This does not mean modern tools or technology cannot be used and that we are frozen in time in respect to our methods of production.  Nor does this mean every component of an item must be created by an Aboriginal person (such as beads, thread, buttons, and other materials) however it does mean that the main body of work must be created by an Aboriginal person here in Canada.
  3. Must be Distributed by Aboriginal People – This means an Aboriginal person is responsible for wholesaling to the retail market.  This segment is meant to address the exploitation which has occurred all too often in our communities when a non-Aboriginal actor takes advantage of needy conditions to purchase items for literally pennies on the dollar.  Although these items may be designed and produced by Aboriginals, the social and economic issues are not practically addressed.

For now, I look forward to following and supporting the work to create and promote an Authentic Aboriginal Art program and to revisiting Klahowya Village.  It’s open again from 11am to 4 pm weekdays (5pm Friday to Sunday) and it’s wonderful!

The Spirit Train is rolling… and there’s Sasquatch sightings already http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlduuZ2gXdA&feature=player_embedded  Come check it out if you’re living or traveling to Coast Salish Territories this summer!

In honour and respect,   Kristin =) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Relevant links to topics in this article

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Educators as Agents of Social Change, Media, Education, Culture & Society

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