Stories of The Moon

Seed beads on wool double cloth, 2019.

 

Stories of the Moon is my interpretation of the Mackinaw jacket as a memory holder dedicated to my family and the land(s) where they lived. The phrases found on the sleeves of the jacket are words from a journal entry written by my late grandmother in 1979. The journal entry recounted family memories of her, my father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather travelling to the Moon River (near Mactier, Ontario) to visit where my great-grandfather was born. In November 2019, I retraced my grandmother’s entry by travelling to the Moon River with my father and spending time on the land. I then wrote my own journal entry. The words found on the outside of the jacket are fragments of both my and my grandmother’s written memories. A series of beaded text is also found on the inside linings of the sleeves for my skin to feel and my heart to know. 

 

This jacket also serves as a material dedication to the group of Halfbreed women who invented the Mackinaw jacket on St. Joseph's Island in 1811.​ I am grateful to Dylan Miner and the conversations we shared, informing the historical context of this work.