Indigenous Achievement Week Collaborative Art Project

All are welcome to join University of Saskatchewan (USask) Indigenous Artist-in-Residence Lyndon Tootoosis during Indigenous Achievement Week (IAW) in the creation of new artwork titled anohc kipasikônaw/ we rise /niipawi.

Date: February 3 - 7, 2020
Location: Gordon Snelgrove Gallery
Time: 10 am - 2 pm

Thirteen reclaimed stone steps that were originally used in USask's Thorvaldson Building will be etched with Cree syllabics, evoking the 13 moons of the lunar calendar used by Indigenous peoples to guide their movements and life decisions.

Portraits of past and present USask students will also be on display at the Gordon Snelgrove Gallery during IAW. Starting with a picture of USask alumna Annie Maude “Nan” McKay, a Métis student who received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1915, photos of Indigenous graduates will be presented to make evident the long line of Indigenous people who have been a part of the USask community. A portrait studio will be set up in the gallery to photograph current students and other participants, and those pictures will be on display as well.

A member of the Poundmaker First Nation, Tootoosis is a carver, storyteller and interpreter of petroglyphs. He joined the USask community in January 2020 as the newest Indigenous Artist-in-Residence with the University Art Galleries and Collection and will be working on campus until April 2020.