Altar-native
Geanna Dunbar
September 8th – November 10th, 2023
These artworks are sacred altar-like mixed media pieces representing what Indigenous people sacrificed for the “gift” of a colonial god domination and the effects of this juxtaposition on Indigenous people. The effects are diverse and varied, depending on the context and region involved and feature the loss or transformation of Indigenous cultures, languages, and identities due to the imposition and conversion to Christianity and other colonial religions. These altars represent the emergence of new religious movements and reformations that took from Indigenous elements and were used in colonial spaces.
This exhibition showcases the movement of resistance and rebellion against colonial oppression, exploitation, and discrimination against Indigenous peoples. These effects are still relevant in many societies today as they shape different regions.
Every altar features traditional offerings gifted through the resurgence of Indigenous tattoo, medicines of natural elements found, purchased, and offered from Treaty 1, Treaty 4, Treaty 6, Treaty 7, Cowessess First Nation, New Brunswick (the home of Mi’gmaq, the Wolastoqiyik, and the Peskotomuhkati people along the Saint John River Valley) as well as items from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
These altars are for our ancestors who were raped of everything they practiced (language, culture, spirituality) so colonizers could make space for their gods and way of life.
