How the art of skateboarding can also be an act of empowerment
A group of Winnipeg skateboarders are using their practice to reclaim ancestral lands
In Manitoba, a group of Indigenous skateboarders called Red Riding Media have taken the emotional and physical power of their practice to a new level. They're using the fact that they skate at a particularly significant spot in Winnipeg as a point of resistance, empowerment, and a way to reclaim their history and identity. It's skateboarding as activism, and they're masters of the craft.
In this video produced by Gary Zubeck and narrated and directed by correspondent Hanwakan Blaikie Whitecloud, you'll see what can happen when an art collides with a sense of social justice, and you may not look at skateboarding quite the same way.
And keep an eye out for "BoarderX," an exhibition coming to Winnipeg Art Gallery this fall curated by Jaimie Isaac (watch for her in the video). It focuses on international Indigenous art that's contributed to the skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing world, from painting to etching and carving.
Camera work on this piece was executed by Charles Lavack, Hanwakan Whitecloud, Graham Constant, Dillan Lavallee, Miles Mitsima, Travis Nemeth, Gary Zubeck, Kyle Michell, Lachi Maclean, and Matt Kathler.
Watch Exhibitionists Sundays at 4:30pm (5 NT) on CBC.