An open house was held at Mistasinhk Place last night. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

art exhibit

Northlands College students explore who they are through art

Jan 15, 2020 | 2:17 PM

Northlands College Instructor Colleen Charles wanted to spark a passion in her students through a special art project where they are the inspiration.

The project occurred with two of her Indigenous Studies classes last semester, which in total produced 20 works of art. The idea of the assignment was to create a piece of art that reflects who they are, Charles said, and develop a stronger and more positive image of themselves.

“What I wanted them to do is really think about who they are as Cree, Dene, Métis and non-Indigenous people,” she said. “I wanted them to think about where they are from and who are their relatives, because they had to do a family tree as well.”

The project educated students in the different stages of colonialism, along with historical and contemporary Indigenous issues. Charles mentioned it was also about educating them about internalized colonialism and what it means to become decolonized.

“Decolonization is when they are reclaiming their languages, they’re going back to school and they are making it right with themselves,” she said. “That’s what I want to see in my students. They are on the right path.”

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Many of the images show outdoor scenes or include elements like water, trees and flowers. With her students coming from throughout the North, she said outdoors was a theme in many because they lived so close to the water and land as the grew up.

Charles believes the project was a success overall, noting there will be another exhibit in February displaying black and white images from students in the current semester.

“I wanted to incorporate hands on-activities,” she said. “I wanted to go a different route and think outside the box as opposed to just lecturing. This brings them to think critically as well and develop critical thinking skills.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno