Exhibitions's texts

B - The Time of Care and Repair

Parties acknowledge that adaptation action […] should be based on and guided by the best possible available science and, as appropriate, traditional knowledge, knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local knowledge systems […]. (Paris Agreement. 2015. Art. 7.5)

Indigenous Peoples manage their environment using ethics of care and a culture of repair. This is how they contribute to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Many of them are vulnerable to climate changes due to their close relation to fauna, flora and ecosystems for their dietary, medical and cultural needs. Indigenous Peoples protect lands, water, biodiversity and ecosystems thanks to their knowledge and know-how, constantly reassessed and renewed. The latter are an integral part of their culture and include language, plant classification, social interaction, rituals and spirituality. When Indigenous Peoples own and control their lands, the environment and biodiversity are better protected.

Honour Water

The Water carries her, she carries the Water
By Elizabeth LaPensée (1984-)
Anishinaabe
United States, Minnesota
2016
Illustration from the video game Honour Water
Courtesy of the artist
© Elizabeth LaPensée

In 2017, dozens of women walked more than a thousand kilometres along the Missouri River in order to take care of its waters. Like many women before them, they were taking part in a walk for water or Nibi Walk. These walks originate from the ceremonial practices of the Anishinaabeg in North America. Participants identify the rivers most severely affected or threatened by pollution. They collect water from the source and then, singing, carry it for hundreds of kilometres to the river mouth in a copper container. There, they pour out the source water in the hope that future generations will be able to enjoy clean, pure water. While water is threatened everywhere, Elizabeth LaPensée, a video game developer and researcher, created the Honour Water game in order to make known songs for healing water that can be shared by all peoples.

Artist’s statement - Elizabeth LaPensée

“I was taught that we are all side by side, and when we direct competition towards ourselves rather than at one another, we rise, so does everyone at our side. Honour Water is a remembrance of White Earth Nation Elder Mary Renville, whose request for a way to recall water songs through play was answered with a game made with Sharon M. Day, an Elder who is Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe depicted in Nokomis Tends the Lands with Waters in Hand, as well as the Oshkii Giizhik Singers and Anishinaabeg Elders. These Anishinaabekwewag (Anishinaabeg women) came together just as in The Women, They Hold the Ground to bring about songs that can be shared with all people. We asked one another what we could gift, for the sake of healing the waters. And although you may most clearly recognize six women standing side by side, there is also a seventh—Grandmother Moon. She is deeply connected with the movement of the waters and our songs are carried on the waters with hope for the wellbeing of all.”
Elizabeth LaPensée

Carefully Repairing

In 2020, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the right to repair electronic devices which valorizes a dual ability to repair and recycle products. Designers, repairers, electronic device producers, consumer rights defenders and legal experts are increasingly sharing their practices in order to establish a culture of repair. These objects from the MEG’s collection, as well as the associated photographs, underline the way in which populations – usually nomadic or semi-nomadic – have developed this repair culture by being particularly careful in selecting and employing the materials used to restore damaged objects. While a growing number of individuals are worried about the fact that the world has only a limited amount of natural resources, these objects remind us that we can repair and recycle materials so as to turn them into new sustainable resources.

Protecting Marimo Algae

Marimo algae only grow in Lake Akan at Hokkaido, in Japan, and in a few rare lakes in the northern hemisphere. This protected species is endangered. Lake Akan, whose whole ecosystem is threatened, is on the list of Japan’s remarkable natural sites. To honour marimo algae, the elders of Ainu communities, the Indigenous People of Hokkaido, created in 1950 the Marimo Matsuri festival. This event is culturally alien to the Ainu who historically had no use for this aquatic plant. Up until then however, another gratitude festival for commonly used plants had existed in Indigenous practices. With no link to tradition, the Marimo Matsuri is remarkable for having been made part of the ritual calendar in order to serve as a contemporary message. From the beginning, the event was seen as much as a way of fighting for the preservation of the lake environment as a means of making visible the claims of the local culture.

Revitalizing Nautical Knowledge in The Marshall Islands

The ancestors of the Marshallese were experienced navigators: sophisticated knowledge and fast craft enabled them to explore and people a large number of Micronesian islands. In the wake of the various colonizations (Spanish, German, Japanese and American), this knowledge rapidly declined. Since the late 1980s, Alson Kelen and the Waan Aelõñ in Majel association (WAM) – Canoes of the Marshall Islands – has worked on revitalizing and handing down this knowledge. The WAM’s activity is based on building fibreglass outrigger canoes and boats in order to make young people with sustainable skills autonomous. The income generated enables them to help with their family’s and community’s needs. This programme also establishes connections with international organizations interested in navigation and the future of oceans.

Weaving Cedar Bark to Safeguard a Threatened Language

Sm’algya̱x, the language of the Ts’msyen people from the north-west coast of the United States and Canada, is in decline. In 2000, less than ten people could speak it fluently in Metlakatla, on Annette Island in Alaska. Realizing this, in 2015, three young people joined forces and created the Haayk Foundation whose aim is to preserve, promote and revitalize this language by learning it from the elders and passing it on to the younger generation. In parallel, the practice of basketry was also dying out. Saving it entailed acquiring specific knowledge on the raw materials used, cedar bark and various herbaceous plants, as well as on the environment, harvesting techniques and weaving. Protecting their declining language has thus enabled the Ts’msyen to take care of a whole system of practices and knowledge connected with ecosystems and biodiversity.

Artist’s statement - Kandi McGilton

“I am a modern Ts’msyen artist firmly rooted in my heritage. I grew up during a time of great cultural resurgence in Metlakatla. I am a co-founder of The Haayk Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to revitalize Sm’algya̱x. It takes discipline, focus and sophisticated precision to create beadwork that dazzles the eyes. My modern take on devilfish bags are known for their elegant aesthetic, tasteful color combinations and creative use of space. The endangered Annette Island Ts’msyen basketry I weave is unique, featuring an intricate and visually striking element called false embroidery. I harvest red cedar, maidenhair fern and canary grass creating traditional basketry designs. My artwork, language apprenticeship and nonprofit journey intersect with the work of The Haayk Foundation in a documentary aimed at preserving Annette Island weaving and the Sm’algya̱x vocabulary. These cutting edge styles and ideals capture the Ts’msyen spirit of innovation and creativity.”
Mangyepsa Gyipaayg - Kandi McGilton