Mapping Roots: Perspectives of Land & Water in Ontario

Christi Belcourt is a Michif (Métis) visual artist with a deep respect for Mother Earth, the traditions and the knowledge of her people. In addition to her paintings, she is also known as a community based artist, environmentalist and advocate for the lands, waters and indigenous peoplesé She is currently a lead organizer for the Onaman Collective which focuses on resurgence of language and land based practices. She is also the lead coordinator for Walking With Our Sisters, a community-driven project that honours murdered and missing Indigenous women. Her work Giniigaaniimenaaning (Looking Ahead) commemorates residential school survivors, their families and communities to mark the Prime Minister’s historic Apology in 2008 and is installed at Centre Block on Parliament Hill commissioned by the Government of Canada.

Mapping Roots: Perspectives of Land & Water in Ontario is a series that explores Métis and Anishnaabe perspectives of land and water. The paintings meld together current day road maps with research into original native place names along with other motifs in an attempt to express an Aboriginal worldview and try to show what cannot be found on today’s maps. Other paintings within the series explore water as a sacred element and also a vital link to the history of the Anishnaabeg, the Métis and later to Canada. Featured prominently within the paintings are various renditions of water that were crucial to the survival of the Anishnaabeg and the Métis. In all, the pieces provide a perspective of Ontario’s history that is rarely acknowledged.