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The Art of  Chaudière Falls and the Islands

5/3/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
1858 Krieghoff, Cornelius ‒ oil painting of Chaudière Falls

On April 18th, 2018, I, along with several people who live in Ottawa, took the time to visit the National Gallery of Canada for a private showing of the art of Chaudière Falls and the Islands. In the Anishinaabeg tradition we ascribe stories to our landscapes. I was fortunate to learn from the late Elder William Commanda, a language speaker, Pipe carrier, wampum bundle carrier, and story-teller about the specialness of Chaudière Falls. William told me this was the place where Creator placed the first Sacred Pipe.

Our visit to the gallery was such a special afternoon. The visit began with a discussion of how it is that the Four Sacred Elements of Water, Rock, Wind, and Fire are inherent in the pipe ceremony, and further how the Four Orders of Creation are also inherent: Rock, Water, Wind, and Fire; the Tree Nation, The Animal Nation, and finally Human Beings.

As we collectively viewed the art we respected the need for us all to take the time and enjoy each piece before we began with the interfering ritual of the click, click, clicking of our cameras. We ended with a wonderful feast where we talked about our lives and we shared our dreams for a time when the sacred is honoured.

The inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge into the event made it a more joyful time for me. I encourage everyone interested to organize a private viewing of the art of  Chaudière Falls and the Islands.  Here is the object list of the items:
​
6287                    1791 Davies, Thomas‒watercolour
18504.1-2            1821 Forrest, Charles Ramus‒watercolour
42324.81             1821 Woolford, John Elliott‒watercolour
42324.82A           1821 Woolford, John Elliott‒watercolour
42324.82B           1821 Woolford, John Elliott‒watercolour
42324.84              1821 Woolford, John Elliott‒watercolour
23440                   1821 Woolford, John Elliott-watercolour  
29214.13              1825 Young, John Crawford‒drawing with brown wash
29214.39              1825 Young, John Crawford‒drawing with brown wash
29214.40              1825 Young, John Crawford‒drawing with brown wash
42323.38              1828 Cockburn, James Pattison‒drawing with brown wash
42323.39              1828 Cockburn, James Pattison‒drawing with brown wash
42323.40              1828 Cockburn, James Pattison‒drawing with brown wash
42323.41              1828 Cockburn, James Pattison‒drawing with brown wash
28026                   1833 Pooley, Henry‒watercolour
15017                   1840 Bartlett, W.H.‒pencil
34856                   1857 unknown artist‒stereo view
2037                     1858 Krieghoff, Cornelius‒oil painting
32401                   1860 Notman, William‒stereo view
33380                   1873 Topley, William James‒stereo view
33383                   1875 Topley, William James‒photograph

Learn more about Chaudière Falls and the Islands and their further desecration despite the rhetoric and nation to nation and reconciliation at this link: https://watershedsentinel.ca/articles/akikodjiwan/

Below is a slideshow of the works.

Picture
​​Lynn Gehl, Ph.D. is an Algonquin Anishinaabe-kwe from the Ottawa River Valley. In 2017 she won an Ontario Court of Appeal case on sex discrimination in The Indian Act, and is an outspoken critic of the Algonquin land claims process. Recently she published Claiming Anishinaabe: Decolonizing the Human Spirit.  You can reach her through, and see more of her work, at www.lynngehl.com

1 Comment
Judith Matheson link
5/3/2018 08:50:26 am

I am deeply honored and privileged to walk with and to connect with the deep indigenous knowledge and wisdom of my own souls journey of awakening to live each day as deeply sacred in relationship to the all that is!

In life such days as April 18 inspire us in seeing these paintings and sharing our own deep spirituality as a group that beauty in each of our souls shines through when we witness together the grandeur of nature!

It is in nature and these paintings that we experience the beauty of joy to look at the once magnificent sacred lands and waterways of our ancient original peoples here since time immemorial and to see how now in 2018 clearly humanity has a problem.

We as polluters are a threat to the word sacred and to losing our own ability to feel and to be fully spiritually alive as humans who care, love, and protect our One home and the waterways that feed all our relations.

Thanks to Dr. Lynn Gehyl for helping us to transfer our experience to others who also seek to see the sacred in all things and how connected we all are as One Universal humanity as we awaken our own indigenous hearts.

I invite all of us to hear the call of Algonquin Spiritual Leader Albert Dumont to join him and live the truth of the power of love to overcome fear and destruction by working together to rise up and live " Spirituality is Unity" the third annual walk from Sacred Victoria Island at 10:30 am to meet and walk from 11 am to noon slowly in gratitude and thanks that on Friday, June 22, 2018 we as One Universal Humanity are awakening what we once say in paintings we must now stand up for to be seen once again.

In the grandeur of nature it is we ourselves who are all now called we as One humanity must awaken in each other the power of love beyond fear.. to be called to give voice from our own deep spirituality and roots of what it means to be fully human.

Is to care, to rise up and say NO to any form of continued destruction of this most sacred spiritual Mecca a meeting place that once again can inspire humanity to meet, to be welcome, and together to learn the Anishinabe ways of spirituality of how to live from deep mutual equality, fairness and respect so peace can be truly the legacy this sacred place once again inspires and leaves as a legacy to all of humanity. ,

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Picture
copyright Lynn Gehl
www.lynngehl.com