CANADA
MEETING GROUND PROJECT
The project aims to coordinate journeys to culturally significant places that are conducive to intergenerational exchanges between Indigenous elders and youth.
The central objective is to engage the participants in a common creative process promoting the transfer, documentation, conservation and transmission of their cultural heritage with a focus on training a dynamic new generation of cultural ambassadors.
The first phase is focused on training, and aims to contribute to the re-establishment of the relationship between the youth and the elders of their community, but also to encourage young people in their educational path and to enable them to contribute to their self-determination, both personal and cultural. This allows, on the one hand, for the recognition of ancestral knowledge formerly transmitted from generation to generation and, on the other hand, it brings young people and elders together so that they can exchange on this knowledge.
The second phase is focused on the creation of a work that will remain with the host community and showcase the territories visited and discussed by the elders. This work (the specifics of which are to be defined with the artists and the partners) will allow the public to encounter the heritage and cultural identities honoured during the first phase of this project.
THE PROJECT
WHO?
The participants were youth ages 10 to 25, from Ilnu, Anishinabe, Eeyou First Nations and Inuit. They partnered with members of their family to create videos expressing how they live and transmit cultural knowledge on a daily basis. Artists from different fields used the videos as inspiration to create a permanent work of art for their respective communities. The trainers were a filmmaker and an animator from La Boîte Rouge VIF.
The institutions that took part were La Boîte Rouge VIF; partner Indigenous organizations in each community; Secrétariat à la jeunesse du Québec (SJQ) and the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA).
WHERE?
The activities took place in the partner communities in Quebec (Kangiqsujuak, Kebaowek, Mashteuiatsh, Pikogan, Waswanipi) Canada and/or online.
WHEN?
The entire project spanned over 2 years, from 2019 to 2021. Work with each community took about 3-6 months from the training with the youth (2 days) to the filming with their family, the presentation to the artist, the art production and installation.
WHY?
This project aims to contribute to re-establishing the relationship between generations, Elders and youth among First Nations and Inuit in a perspective of preservation, documentation and transmission of their own culture, in addition to promoting the cultural self-determination of First Peoples.
The targeted objectives were to (1) to foster contexts of intergenerational cultural exchange and transmission; (2) to empower Indigenous youth so that they can act with ease in a key role in the preservation, conservation and transmission of their cultural heritage; (3) to enable elders to share and transmit their knowledge and skills related to heritage and cultural identity; (4) to engage youth and elders in a common creative process favouring the transfer, conservation and transmission of their cultural heritage; (5) to accompany an emerging local artist in the production of a commissioned work.
WHAT?
The first part of the project was for the youth to produce quality audiovisual productions showing cultural activities and transmission experiences with elders. From there, artists created different permanent pieces in the form of an installation, a sculpture, a film and an interactive terminal.
HOW?
Workshops included training activites in documentary film making.
IMPACTS
Benefits include a true intergenerational dialogue; an Indigenous transmission loop alternative; the introduction of Indigenous youth to be involved in the preservation and transmission of their culture; a sense of accomplishment on the part of elders and the transfer of their knowledge; accessibility and sharing of cultural heritage for an entire community; and finally, an increased sense of belonging, pride and self-esteem on the part of youth.
A SHARED EXPERIENCE
PROJECT | MEETING GROUND
COUNTRY | CANADA
