An exhibit at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, N.B., is attempting to raise awareness about murdered and missing Indigenous women.
The exhibit is part of the Red Shawl Campaign and part of its aim is to remind people they can help in the reconciliation process.
Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre & Faculty of Education assistant professor Margaret Kress said it’s a “powerful exhibit” that reminds people of women that were once here but are now gone.
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“When you look at the travesty of the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across the country, it’s just overwhelming actually, and the emotion that a lot of people that are familiar with the issue take in is really a heavy emotion because we know that these are people that have been loved by their families and they’re no longer with us,” Kress said.
Kress said the exhibit is also about justice and bringing truth to a situation that exists across the country.
“Right now, we are Indigenous people across the country… grieving with the family of Tina Fontaine for justice that has not prevailed and she is one of our missing and murdered girls and there are many more, there are many more, and there are some from this territory, there are many from this territory,” Kress said.
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Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre elder-in-residence Imelda Perley said the seven shawls are hanging to the left of the gallery entrance. She said the left is always considered the nurturing side, while the right side is considered the protective side.
Perley said there are seven shawls that represent seven generations of Indigenous people.
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Perley said the placement of the shawls is symbolic and said directly down the hall towards the back of the gallery sits the Grandfather Akwiten Canoe, a symbol of healing.
The canoe was crafted in the 1820s with wood from the New Brunswick forests before it was taken to Ireland. She said the canoe finding its way home has brought back healing.
Two small red shawls are also included in the exhibit.
“We wanted to make sure that the unborn children are also honoured and remembered, and so there are two small shawls that are part of the collection,” Perley said.
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The shawls are the central focus of the campaign that aims at bringing awareness to the general public, students, faculty and staff members at the University of New Brunswick. The campaign also encompasses support and healing for families of girls who are missing.
Kress said it’s also important to bring up situations of violence against women and the number of Indigenous women that are incurring extreme violence and death to the forefront of the minds of people across the country.
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Perley hopes the shawls provoke a sense of compassion and truth in those who see them. She hopes they will inspire people to look closely at answering the calls to action laid out in the Truth and Reconciliation report, released in 2015.
“There’s an action that’s needed to be aware of the territory you’re on and what’s happened to the Indigenous people in the territory that we live, that we share with, and I think that’s what I really would like.”
A bowl of cedar water is also part of the display, serving as a place to leave the overwhelming feelings evoked by the exhibit, as well as in a book, laid out for people to leave healing messages, thoughts or feelings to help the families in New Brunswick and across the country.
The Red Shawl exhibit coincides with an exhibit by residential school survivor Alex Janvier that runs until March 21.
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