A Path Forward

Work by Indigenous artists on display at Macaulay Church Museum

The Macaulay Church Museum has been transformed into a home for contemporary works of art and stories created by Indigenous artists. The project is called A Path Forward and is a collaborative effort between Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na (TTO) Language and Cultural Centre in Tyendinaga, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund, and the County Museums. It aims to create a narrative that speaks to the historical and contemporary presence of Indigenous people in Prince Edward County. The exhibit opened on Saturday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. “The whole idea is to bring more education to our neighbours in Prince Edward County around Truth and Reconciliation and how that looks to individuals. Today is a good day to celebrate these things, and it’s a good day to educate people as well,” said Callie Hill, executive director of TTO. “One way to do that is to be here looking at all of these pieces of art, and the information panels we had made with the help of our local historian.” The most striking installation in the former St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church is the graffiti art created by Tewateronhiahkhwa (Jennifer) Glenister that covers most of one wall. Artist Tom Wilson has an installation piece called Fading Memories of Home that depicts the fallout of the residential school program. Nine antique school desks arranged in a three by three grid have engravings on their surface that denote the fading memories of residential schoolchildren with regard to family, culture and language. Two eight-foot cutouts of painted nuns—based on Mr. Wilson’s The Struggle Now Has a Name, which is also on display— loom ominously in front of the desks. The front walkway of the museum has been painted with a mural by Melissa Brant.

Faith Wilson is one of the artists featured in the current exhibition. She is a member of the Six Nations on the Grand River Territory, and said it was an emotional day for her. “Today I spent my morning in school, learning my language. It felt very powerful for me to speak my language on a day when we remember that it was taken from my ancestors,” she said. “It is a very important day to remember and to keep our traditions alive and pass them down to my children.” Her great-grandmother was the last Mohawk language speaker in her family, and she was forbidden to pass the language on to her children. Ms. Wilson said that learning and speaking her language has resulted in a deeper connection with her art. “It’s a big part of what I do. Understanding my culture and understanding my language has brought a lot of my pieces together and inspired me to create a different type of art.”