Part of the Indigenous Initiatives Art collection.

Photo for reference only. Baseline Condition Report completed C.McLellan, 2024-04-17.

Artist statement: For all of the traits that human beings carry, hope is one of the most powerful. It has seen all of our ancestors through hard times: through wars, famine, disease and injustice. It has been that smallest glimmer on the darkest of days.

Sometimes, however, hope is hard to come by. We retreat into ourselves: afraid, frustrated or downright mad. We lock ourselves into our homes and try to avoid the world. We watch the news and see death and destruction. We see despair. We see fear and statistics. We see despots and knees-on-necks. We hear about those gunned down in their own homes and we hear lies upon lies upon lies. Sometimes, it is all too much….

Then we look into the eyes of our children or think about the words of our grandparents. We snuggle our pets and we hold our family and friends dear. They give us strength…they give us resolve. They are our k̓wa̱la’yu, our “reasons for living”. With them, we can envision a way through all of this madness. We must hold fast to this hope.

But…we also know that hope is nothing without action. We cannot sit idly by and “hope” that change will come. No, we must get out there and vote for leaders who will properly lead. We must speak up for the voiceless. We must say the names of those who have been silenced. We must fight the diseases that attack our body. Sometimes this work is downright hard but sometimes it can be as simple as washing one’s hands and, regretfully, staying home for a period of time. We can hope for a safe, just and clean world for our children, but it is going to take work.

The status quo is a place of comfort and success for some and literal chains for others. In order for change to occur, our society’s “normal” needs to be questioned and put on trial. To do this, we must rally, resist, rise and rebel! There is hope in an eagles' wings, but there is action in its talons….