POV | The photographer and the prisoner: How I became friends with an inmate
By Michelle Siu, as told to Now or Never
About two and a half years ago, I was attending a powwow at Skownan First Nation, which is a reserve about four hours north of Winnipeg. I was invited by the chief to photograph it as part of a documentary project.
While I was there, I met a grass dancer named Waylon Mousseau. He was wearing regalia that was very physically stunning and colourful.
Waylon and I come from very different worlds. I'm a daughter of Chinese immigrants and a photographer. I go on shoots everywhere from Tanzania to El Salvador.
Waylon grew up on the streets and started dealing drugs when he was 14. The Manitoba Warriors was his family. He told me he had spent time in jail. But at the powwow, Waylon seemed so free and at peace. He told me he was determined to turn his life around.
That's why I was shocked when, about a year later, Waylon called me from prison. I was surprised he had returned to the same four walls.
When Waylon first started calling, I have to admit I wasn't into chatting with someone I didn't really know. Our conversations at first were awkward. I had a hard time finding common ground and things to talk about.
But he told me about leading a drum group in prison. He hung a photo that I took of him at the powwow in his jail cell. Eventually, I started talking to him about my life and work.
Waylon doesn't have many people in his life outside of his world, which is dark, unhealthy and violent. His mom visits him every week or so and his aunt sometimes puts him on the phone with his three kids.
But talking to his family can be hard for Waylon because they tell him about things he can't be a part of, and problems he can't do anything to solve.
He often tells me he doesn't want to hear about the outside world. And I think because I'm not woven into his family or his community in Winnipeg, I can be a positive third party person who doesn't represent the life he's missing out on.
I feel there's a lot of good in Waylon and I can't help but feel that if I'd been given his lot in life, I'd be where he is. He's got a lot of fight in him to try and turn things around and I admire that.
After all these phone calls, I feel like I can be a positive influence in Waylon's life. And now, I see him as a friend.
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Michelle Siu is a freelance photographer in Toronto. If you'd like to hear excerpts from one of her phone calls with Waylon, scroll back to the top of this page and click 'listen'.