Sayisi Dene First Nation artist displays special exhibit at Canadian Museum for Human Rights

An art exhibit that reflects on the journey of the Sayisi Dene people was unveiled in Winnipeg.

Artist Jedrick Thorassie revealed his series of works, entitled My Peoples Journey, for a special one-day viewing at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on Sunday.

The exhibit, which was accessible to the public in conjunction with Free Museum Day, reflects on the Sayisi Dene people's forced relocation to Churchill in 1956, the racism they experienced, their survival, and the eventual return to their land at Tadoule Lake in northern Manitoba.

Thorassie is a self-taught artist from Sayisi Dene First Nation, and for him, creating these pieces taught him about his community's history and his own.

"[My people] experienced a lot of hardships and struggles with drinking. A lot of people passed and then they decided to move themselves back to the land, so I'm just telling that story," Thorassie said.

He had a challenging upbringing that included time spent in foster care and taking care of his sick grandmother during the early parts of his teenage years. Thorassie is also divorced, which he said took a toll on him.

"I know it's cliché to say this, but art saved me. It really, really did. I was so lost and so lonely, so heartbroken. Art just filled that void and inside my heart," Thorassie said Sunday on The Weekend Morning Show.

Paintings helped with understanding

All of the exhibit paintings are done in acrylic on canvas, and there's one in particular that holds a special meaning to him.

It's a piece that portrays his mom as a child, along with her parents, and one he describes as "sad" but one that alters his perspective on the things they dealt with.

"I blamed other people. I blamed my mom for a lot of things that happened. But in painting these paintings, I realized my mom went through stuff too, and it's not necessarily her fault she went through stuff and I finally understand that." Thorassie said.

He and mom now have a good relationship, but he also wishes his grandmother was still alive to see his creativity expressed through art.

"She would be really proud of me. She loves me and I loved her," Thorassie said.

Lionel Houston, an elder from Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad, which partnered with the museum to host Thorassie's exhibit, said he learned a great deal about the Sayisi Dene.

"I hear about the Ojibway, I hear about the Cree, I hear about the Sioux, but we don't hear about the Dene. So he's going to be the one educating everybody about his people," Houston said.

He believes art is another way that opens up dialogue and enhances communication, including back to the historical roots which First Nations were built upon.

"This stuff brings us all back to the to the water, to the land, to the old ways of knowing how we had fun, you know, the games we played and the connection to the animals," Houston said.

Shanlee Scott, Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad's executive director, hopes anyone who sees Thorassie's paintings will reflect on elements of Manitoba's history that aren't as publicly well known.

"I think that there's so much of the history of our own province that probably we weren't really aware of that, at least in detail about these experiences," Scott said.

"I think that it's important for all Manitobans — not just Indigenous people — to know the true history of the land that we're calling home."

Although the public can only take in the exhibit, which is located on the museum's third level, until 5 p.m. Sunday, Thorassie says anyone interested in viewing his art can check it out on the first Friday of the month at an art shop in the Exchange District.

He feels fortunate to be where he's at in life.

"I got really lucky, I think. People in good places or studios, rec centres and the people at the museum," he said. "I'm just really lucky that I know them."