Stories of The Moon
Seed beads on wool double cloth, 2019.
Stories of the Moon is my own interpretation of the Mackinaw jacket as a memory holder dedicated to my Métis/Halfbreed/Aabitaawizininiwag ancestors and the land(s) where they lived. The phrases found on the sleeves of the jacket are words from a journal entry I found written by my late grandmother in 1979. The journal entry recounted family memories of herself, my father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather travelling up to the Moon River (Ontario) to visit the Métis settlement where my great-grandfather was born. In November 2019, I retraced my grandmother’s entry by travelling up 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. Those phrases are deeply personal and are only for my skin to feel and my heart to know.
This jacket also serves as a material dedication to the group of Métis women who originally invented the Mackinaw jacket on St. Joseph's Island in 1811.​ I am grateful to Dylan Miner and the conversations we shared which informed the historical context of this work.