If the Drumming Stops

If The Drumming Stops symbolically connects transit users to stories of the Papaschase Cree territory.

It is the intention of the artists to give voice to the spirit of the language, land, histories and present realities of Indigenous peoples in what has become the current neighborhood of Mill Woods, but which was and will always be carried in the hearts of Papaschase descendants. Working within their interpretations of the protocol of being a guest in Papaschase territory, Morin and Willard invited Cheryl L’Hirondelle into this collaborative work that asserts the Papaschase Cree people’s belonging and histories within the matrix of the contemporary cultures, peoples and eco-systems of the Mill Woods neighborhood today.

With this work, the artists show the complex interrelationship of the past and present, highlighting the historical injustice of the Papaschase Indian Reserve dispossession. The artwork juxtaposes archival images and drawings of the site’s original ecosystem and society with the modern, diverse community, allowing a commuter to look through the eye of the buffalo while standing within the glass transit shelter, for example. Cree syllabics featured on ​‘woodpecker-red’ glass share a traditional ​‘Wake-up Song’ in Cree, and the title of the work relates to historical accounts and current presence of the Papaschase community.

You can read more about If The Drumming Stops on the EAC blog.