Saskatoon indigenous artists' showcase tonight at SCYAP

This week, the work of local artists has taken over @CBCSask's Instagram.

Tonight in Saskatoon, you can see the photographs and meet each person behind the lens at the SCYAP Gallery at 253 Third Ave. S.

More than 30 young indigenous artists from Saskatoon form the From Embers to Flames Youth Resilience Project — a collective that has explored what it means to be resilient, through the lens of a camera.

The members of the group have photographed their friends, families, communities and selves. Their aim was to identify strategies of strength and survival. 

Meaningful work

This week, the artists shared the stories behind their work with @CBCSask. 

"I took these photos and mashed it up into one photo because I like the creativity of having before and after's of each image I take. The bottom two are kind of silly but I'm going to continue making those for my daughter to be embarrassed of when she's older and we can laugh at it later. The top two I took to relation of the bottom, to continue on with the years of work soon to come!

These photos I have shown and would like everyone to see is because it has resilience. I was so afraid to become a parent at such a young age (18) but at the same time I was so excited! I was the last person everyone thought was pregnant. They knew someone was but know one could have guessed me. I was scared I wasn't going to be a good mother just because of my past and because of how I act. But when my daughter Emily came into this world and I heard her first little cry, I wasn't afraid no more. I was able to realize that this is going to be a tough job but I have my family and friends to help support me through it. 

I'm currently 30 weeks pregnant and I'm not afraid to be a mommy this time, because I'm ready." -Cheyenne Merasty

"When I think of resilience i think of this bridge. Not the bridge itself but the graffiti upon it. I myself do spray paint art and am intrigued by others work. In particular the *you are wrong about God* piece because it has a different meaning to each viewer. I was raised religious but once I got older I realized the only reason I was praying to God is because my parents told me to. Did I believe in God? My family has suffered from many loses and gone through many struggles, they have turned to religion while I turned to my mother. I look to her for guidance, she is who i believe in." -Sayge Helgason

"Resilience is a form of healing. I find that nature, music, and dance are all beautiful forms of healing and caring for the soul. it brings the spirit a sense of connection. The earth and all art forms, amaze, and enlighten me. I am truly in love, I am blessed an honoured to be able to experience a life filled with the beauty of the earth, the music, dancing, and all the different art forms. In my pictures I have incorporated some of the sacred element of nature. The most frequently seen is the earth and the water. I did this because as human's our lives depend on the earth and the water, that is why these are sacred and essential elements of life. I love and care for the earth and water. I express this through the beautiful gifts of music, dance, and the arts. I believe anything done with a open heart and open mind, can be a opportunity to be artistic, and different. It's good to honour your true authentic self. Throughout your whole life you will never stop learning about your authentic self, your purpose, and journey. Taking the time to appreciate and acknowledge all that is the beauty of life, is a lovely way to be resilient." -Cheyenne Longman

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"Sometimes the most crucial, life-changing moments, come out of pain and loss. To be in a position of sadness is not a position of defeat. As weak as you may feel right now, this makes you stronger — it adds grit to your story. Time to write more chapters.

This year has been one of my most difficult and I feel like I've lost so much.  One of these losses included misplacing my Eagle feather fan and Eagle feather plumes (shown in the left picture), this past June.  This incident spammed throughout my community, the news, and social media as many people shared my story in hopes someone would have information of their whereabouts. 

What the rest of the world didn't know was that this loss was magnified by the fact that a week before I had a miscarriage. I've always turned to my dancing as a way for me to grief and heal.  Only now am I comfortable talking about it publicly, at the time I wasn't and kept it all bottled up inside.  So when my feathers left I couldn't grieve for my baby even if I wanted, all my spare time was consumed with searching. It was an overwhelming time because I lost my baby and then soon after I lost my feathers which I carried and cared for in a way you would a baby as they are a part of me.  

My culture teaches us that Eagle feathers are sacred, I sacrificed and I prayed to earn those feathers.   I was so hurt and didn't understand what I had done wrong for my Creator to take so much of my being away from me all at one time.  Unfortunately to this day I was never reunited with my feathers.  I knew I didn't want to quit dancing and I carried on the best I could and made do with what I had.  It was so hard though!  The first time I danced at a powwow without my feathers I cried afterwards, it didn't feel right at all. This feeling stayed with me all summer. 

The passion that burned like a fire for dancing was burning out fast. I ended up falling into a depression middle of July which lasted a month of not wanting to dance or travel.  But as time went on and the overwhelming support and prayers I received from the community and the world helped me out of my funk enough to try find my silver lining in all of this chaos.  I eventually re-framed the loss of my feathers as an opportunity for something bigger and better to happen. 

My Creator knows how difficult it was but I maintained patience and prayer and continued to dance even though I felt so incomplete inside. I had to continuously tell myself that nothing is given to you.  Whatever blessings that awaits me must be earned through my ability to persevere through whatever obstacle is placed in front of me. My Creator would never take without replacing, but you cannot be selfish. You need to be willing to let life trade off the old to make room for the new. It took 4 months but I was fortunate enough to be able to replace all that I had loss in regards to my feathers, as shown in the picture on the right. Today I have a beautifully wrapped fan and pretty plumes to compliment it. I feel like my feathers sacrificed themselves for me, to allow me to grow into the next chapter of my life. They left to make room for my new set to come into my life. I still hurt for my baby but I pray that one day I will take the lesson my feathers taught me and be able to apply it to why the people I loved had to leave me too.  

I thank my feathers for these teachings that I will hold on to for dear life to help me overcome and to be patient with the process of grieving." -Randi Lynn Nanemahoo-Candline

SCYAP Gallery, at 253 Third Ave. S., is hosting a showcase for the group's work tonight.

Check out the Four Seasons of Resilience exhibit's opening tonight from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. CST.

The From Embers to Flames Youth Resilience Project was completed in collaboration with local elders, Saskatoon Tribal Council, Station 20 West, Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network, Canadian Institute of Health Research, Saskatchewan Prevention Institute, the University of Saskatchewan department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op (CNYC), and White Buffalo Youth Lodge.

Are you part of a collective, working on a project that people should know about? Let me know!