Louise and Rodney's morning story time, Perspectives on Land and Water, lingered in the Summer Institute participants' minds as they visited artist Jaimie Isasc and Elder Dr. Mary Courchene at The Forks on Tuesday. Dr. Courchene shared her experiences with the land and advocated for water to be treated like a living being — with kindness and respect.
After walking back to Plug In ICA from The Forks, Daniel from the Lake Winnipeg Indigenous Collective provided a watershed map which showed the interconnectedness of Lake Winnipeg and surrounding bodies of water.
The map, which took up the entirety of gallery one, only included treaty names and bodies of water — roads, cities, and borders were not pictured. SI participants were welcome to stand on and explore the map, following the natural paths of the watershed.
After a discussion about the map, participants moved to gallery two, where Jaimie Isaac spoke about her work and her relationship to water. As she talked, Isaac invited participants to draw a body of water that meant something to them. Participants were then able to share their connection to their drawing.
