Description

7 Generations

The Anishinaabe speak of the Seven Grandfather Teachings, which are the principles of character that each Anishinaabe should live by… Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Humility & Wisdom.  Each teaching is represented by an animal and shares knowledge on how we can live in harmony with one another and the world.

The Seventh Generation Principle is based on an ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)* philosophy that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. This principle helps us to realize what we do affects all things, in this moment and the next. Our actions are what build the structures for those who come before us.

When I started painting I was processing the energy of thousands of children found buried at residential boarding schools all over Canada and the United States. The idea was “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” Indigenous peoples were seen as less than human. 

This resonated with me personally because my mother and her family all attended St. Joseph’s boarding school. Thinking about what my family went through, and how they were able to survive and thrive through it all to allow me to be here today… I feel their resilience and it gives me the feeling of strength. Gratitude is the underlying current of all of it. It is the truest sense of the idea of 7 generations. 

The lower portion of the painting represents the trinity… Father, Mother, Child. 

Children were taken and forced away from their families to be assimilated into a new way of being…. children who once laughed and played with their mothers and fathers… children that were lost, and far away from home. 

In the painting, the children are released back into oneness by Grandmother Nokomis, as they walk into the light of the Great Mystery. As their bones are sent home and given proper recognition, they are finally at peace.  When I painted this I felt their laughter and joy, and their peace.. Being held in the oneness once again.  Innocence. 

The light is held by Mother Earth, Ahki, and she welcomes her children home.  Her totem is Bear, representing authority, good medicine, courage, and strength. The feminine energetic side of duality.

Father Sun, Gesis, brings light and support to the children. His totem is the Lion of Babylon, and Lion of Judah… supporting the flow of energy. The masculine energetic side of duality.