Kigos, kawin anisha tesi, Akine ici tibentagosi. Kawin eta amoganiwisi
Okanan apititanon kitchi onakonigewatch Anishinabek.
Eka kitchi nenishikesewatch, kakina kitchi kikentawatch ati eji tibentagositc
The fish is one of the important emblems of the Anicinabe culture. He has always fed families, accompanied summer gatherings and connected people to the nitakinan, this sacred territory that carries memory, identity and spirituality.
A symbol of an ancestral link with water, the fish reminds us that we are part of a living whole in balance with nature and the transmitted knowledge.
Essential to the Anicinabe way of life, it remains a strong value to be passed on today. Those who carry its teachings perpetuate a fundamental role: that of peacekeeper.
Nin Nika ene’taman,
Apitc mikwen’tamek Temiskaming. E mawitcitiek niticimikwen’tan. Kitci ackotc min’tonaniwak apitcitawin, kitci nakickotatiek. Kitci apiten’takwan ima aki e anicinapewien.
Weckat anicinapek ici nakickotatipinik. Tetako okitci apitentanawa apit icawatc iima.
Mane icitamakan apitc otcitcisek kitci wamitiatc. Tipatcimonaniwan, Otaminonaniwan, Niminaniwan, Makocaniwan, Papinaniwan acitc o pakosenimian Kitci Manito.
Ka ocitcikeian owe, kitci mikwen’tamek ati kapi iciepak ooma anicinapek aki. Kitci wapitamek ati ka inakamikak acitc kitci kikentcikatek kiapatc e icikapwe’iek a anicinapewek. E sakitowek kit’anicinape pimatisiwinan.
When we think of Obadjiwan-Fort-Témiscamingue, we think of it as a place for trading goods. Many believe that this place was the beginning of Témiscamingue’s economy and development. However, what we forget is the meaning of this territory and its importance to Indigenous people. This place where you stand has long held great significance for the Anishinaabek, the original people of the territory.
For a long time, this place was a gathering spot where my people, my ancestors met for exchanging goods, stories, and knowledge. We still come here to share dances, songs, laughter, food, and to hold ceremonies and elections. Today, take the time to understand the full significance of this place for us, which we’ve called home for thousands of years.
These artworks are presented to remind us of the Indigenous presence on our territory. The images remind our people of their place. We are not relics of the past, we are here, in the present, very proud of our identity. We are Anishinaabeg.
Wikwasatik niki matchiikomin. Kakina apitisi, kitchi machkawisi, sokite.
Kapena kite nitekak, weckatch, nokom achitch wapak.
Ni mamitonentan ati inikik ka witchietch aa mitik.
Kitchi apitentakwan inikik ka apitchiakaniwitch, wechkatch pinichi nokom… oma akikak ka iji moseian, ati ejinakosian.
Mi enen’taman.
My work represents time, memories and everything that builds us. The bark gradually peels off the tree, allowing us to see inside the windows of the past, the archives that make us who we are.
These drawings are moments of transmission, memories of the Anicinabe territory. As an Innu artist, I am also a bearer of my ancestors, and my bark opens up to reveal my identity. Our ancestors live within us, and I continue to pass them on by reaching out beyond myself, to your territory and to those who continue to walk it.
The heart of the artwork is difficult to access, and its shapes become less distinct. Yet, this center represents the very essence of who we are, even if we struggle to perceive it or to remember that we already know it. In seeking to go back in time, we find ourselves at this center, standing in the same place as the generations that came before us.
The cycle continues, and the wind opens up new, ever-wider pieces of bark.
Ka nigiyan, ickijik nigi ayan kidji inabiyan mamawi kidji nanowabideman madjiziwin.
Kakina ni makwinen kabi wabideman, kako abinodjiciyan mamawi nickijik.
Ickijik nidabidjiton kidji mizinbiyaman e mosemigak madjiziwin, megotc e teji obigiwan acitc e teji ketadjiziyan.
Megotc onogocek e teji misewatc icpemak, megotc madjiziwin e teji mosemigak, kiyabetc niwabidan madjiziwin…
I was born with eyes that look and seek.
I absorb everything I see with them, my child’s eyes.
I want to represent this by drawing eyes that observe life, over time, as I grow up, as I grow old.
While the shooting stars pass and time flows.
I continue to see life…
Atikotc ecaian anicinape akikak, mikwen’tamok kakina anicinape e kiken’tan aki apitc e mosatak, e makocietc tciman, e papamakimosetc atikotc e tasopiponesitc.
Okiken’tan kakina kekon ati ecatc ati e icinikatenik, e witcikatek sipi, sakaikan, tapickotc kapecinan. Kawin otci wanicici.
Wasak niki mose, niki mosemin oma anicinabe aki, kiapatc nika mose. Kakina nikikentanan ati ecinikatek. Makata eci tipentakosiek kinawit.
Wherever you set foot on this territory, remember that the Anicinabek knew it by heart. Entire families traveled it by foot, by canoe, and on snowshoes, at all ages. They knew the waterways that led from one hunting spot to another, from one gathering place to another, and this has been the case for thousands of years. Each passage leaves a mark in the invisible, in the timeless. We are here. Forever.
These images drawn from anicinabe archives come to life through my eyes into a visual poem. You see the anicinabe presence from yesterday to today on one side…
And on the other side, you see women, the bearers of life, language, culture, valuable know-how, stories and legends. Too often reduced to silence, forgetfulness and indifference. I never knew my grandmother, because her life was taken by violence, racism and hate towards us, Anicinabek8ek. That was in ’67.
Today, let’s honor these women, these fighters, these bearers. Let’s put a face to their gentleness. Let’s give them back their rightful place in history.
Oowe ocitcikan
pepakan ka otciwatc anicinapek ka mawasako tacikaniwatc senetekak wi ikito oowe ka masinipiketc onotcin, otei, tcitcic otikinakanikak mii tac oowe wetinak kitci wapitaiketc Wasak e otcimakak kitanicinapewatisiwinan acitc nikan e icamakak anishinabe pimatisiwinan.
Wi wapiteike ati eci pimatisinani8ak otenak acitc kinika nopimik
Ni kitci minwentan e anicinapekweian e ocitcikeian kapi opikian mocak kitewak ka sokikapwewatc ikwewak
Mackwesiwin takwan ni pecikotenamikak, kikinwamakewak meka. Nitinentan tac Kitchi tipatcimowan apitc ocitcikeian, e ocitowan kekonan e minwashikin
This artwork is a celebration of the stories of the Senneterre’s community, and of the nations that come together in this space. It is surrounded by hands symbolizing community members coming together. At its heart, the family looking off the morning ahead, the future still developing in front of them. The baby in its tikinagan looks at us, reminding us that the work being done is for future generations.
The other half of this artpiece can be found at the Shabogamak chalet, thus completing the two facets of Senneterre’s identity: our urban life, and our life in the forest. Both pieces are created to represent the beauty in kinship and the way the community came together to learn, grow, and survive.
As an Anishinabekwe, I have always felt great pride in who I am and the ways that I create. I come from a family of strong women who are all teachers and artists in their own way. My artwork is a reminder of the unwavering love, strength, and pride that exists within all of us as Anishinabeg, and a celebration of how far we have come, and how far we will go together.
Nitam oowe ka masinipiiketc pepakan ka otciwatc anicinapek eki mawasako tacikeiak ooma sentekak okitci apitetan kapi iciwepak mitac wa wapitaiketc anicinape pimatisiwini.
Kotak tac ka ocitotc onitcin ka masinipiak. Centre d’amitié de Senneterre ka icinikatek
Wa wapiteiketc e mawasako tacikaniwak otenamiwa acitc e nakickotetinani8ak. Niciton makata ka masinipiakin.
Nin e anicinapeweian ni kitci minwentan ka icitaian e wapiteikaw awiakok kapi ici pimatisiwatc weckatc anicinapek acitc kiapatc nokom.
This artwork is a celebration of the stories of the Senneterre’s community, and of the nations that come together in this space. It is surrounded by hands symbolizing community members coming together. At its heart, you can see the land, animals, and waters: all the things that unite us as Anicinabe, Eeyou, and Atikamekw. The illustration begins in springtime, in the morning, and moves through the day/seasons, showing animals from all three territories coming and living together. This artwork is a full cycle of life.
The other half of this artpiece can be found at the Centre d’entraide et d’amitié de Senneterre, thus completing the two facets of Senneterre’s identity: our urban life, and our life in the forest. Both pieces are created to represent the beauty in kinship and the way the community came together to learn, grow, and survive.
As an Anishinabekwe, I have always felt great pride in who I am and the ways that I create. I come from a family of strong women who are all teachers and artists in their own way. My artwork is a reminder of the unwavering love, strength, and pride that exists within all of us as Anishinabeg, and a celebration of how far we have come, and how far we will go together.
After the NIN, Je suis, I am exhibition toured Anicinabek communities in 2022, Minwashin decided to completely renew the exhibition in order to present it in a museum context.
This museum version, simply titled NIN, keep the same goal: make Anicinabemowin visible by celebrating its strength and beauty. With a wealth of new creations, the NIN exhibition opens up to new audiences and invites new meetings.
We invite you to discover the NIN exhibition starting October 21 at the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City
