Indigenous Arts & Stories - Reflect

What I am trying to portray in this illustration is the different sides of aboriginal history, the past & present. I used the history of aboriginal residential schools. In the first half, it’s bright and sunny. The tree is lively, and the grass grows. I included the Great grandfather teachings into the illustration. The eagle, the turtle and the wolf. The eagle represents love, the turtle represents truth, and the wolf represents humility. I’ve added a dancer into the illustration representing tradition. It ties back to the illustration because it happens before it begins. The other half is dull and gloomy. Everything is slowly dying and the grass never grows. The Buffalo, The beaver, and the bear. The buffalo represents respect, the beaver represents wisdom, and the bear represents courage. The reason why they are in this is because they are respected because what they went through, and their wisdom of what they knew, and the courage to overcome it all after the residential school. The person that’s in the middle shared each part. Eyes are closed, because they don’t want to see. The hands are open and close, represented each part of welcoming and not sharing. The bandage represents suicide. The wings represent their future and the one tied back represents not wanted to. The reflection at the bottom reflects the building of the residential school, and what happen after. But most of all the reflection beneath the person reflects their tradition, their heritage, and their self.