Indigenous Changemakers was a Zoom webinar hosted by the West Vancouver Memorial Library on July 8. This event brought into dialogue three notable Indigenous community members in the arts industry. One was Rebecca Baker-Grenier of the Kwakiuł, Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w, and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh nations, a fashion designer featured in New York Fashion Week and Vogue. Also taking part in this conversation was Julian Brave NoiseCat, a champion Powwow dancer, author, and the first ever Academy Award-nominated Indigenous filmmaker from Turtle Island (North America). Rounding out the cast of this talk was Janna Wale, a Gitxsan and Cree-Métis climate change activist working with the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, along with Kayla Lar-Son, who is a Métis UBC librarian, and the webinar moderator.
The webinar began with Chief Dr. Janice George, a hereditary Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Chief, who welcomed us to the webinar, and briefly introduced the speakers. After a round of introductions, the speakers pondered: “What is an Indigenous changemaker?” Baker-Grenier responded by saying that going into anything with the idea of being a changemaker in the industry is an impure approach, and that her purpose is one of responsibility in strengthening and revitalizing her culture. This was echoed by Wale, who views changemaking as honouring the responsibilities to her ancestors and the land. NoiseCat said Indigenous people have been so underrepresented in recent times in comparison to their vibrant cultural fabric of precolonialism, remarking, “So much of what I see in all sorts of different Indigenous artists, activists, and storytellers is not changemaking, but restoration.”
These speakers continued on to discuss how storytelling is a vital aspect of their respective disciplines, discussing how NoiseCat views himself as a restorer of oral and narrative traditions of his people. Wale has used storytelling as a foundational tool to communicate the effects of climate change on a more personal level, rather than relying on data and statistics, which can create accessibility challenges for some people. As an example, she told us everyone in her community has stories about the impacts of climate change, affecting their ability to interact with the land and conduct their cultural practices. “That is where I see the most change happening, when people use stories to illustrate how we’re all experiencing this larger thing,” she concluded.
Wale’s reflection reminds me of the many efforts by Indigenous artists across Turtle Island to shed light on the climate crisis and its impacts — from the grassroots efforts of photographers and storytellers from the Nunatsiavut Nation documenting the everyday impacts of climate change on their community, to arts exhibitions that display the changes in lives of Indigenous communities living near the Pacific Ocean. Indigenous musicians have also led the way in efforts towards language and cultural revitalization.
“Whether it’s someone receiving an award, presenting their work on the international stage, or graduating high school, every step in our journey is remarkable.”
— Rebecca Baker-Grenier, fashion designer
A thoughtful concluding remark that stuck with me after the webinar came from Baker-Grenier; “No matter what it is they’re doing, to see all Indigenous people succeed and push through is remarkable because of what we carry. Whether it’s someone receiving an award, presenting their work on the international stage, or graduating high school, every step in our journey is remarkable.”
