Radical Stitch

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Nico Williams, “Dirty J Cloth,” 2022

glass beads (photo by Paul Litherland)

Radical Stitch is a stunning display of contemporary Indigenous stitching and beadwork at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina. While the title may seem deceptive to some visitors, the exhibition actually is radical. For 67 years – from the late 19th century until 1951 – the Indian Act made it illegal for Indigenous people to practice their cultural traditions and ceremonies in Canada, including potlatches and beadwork. Indigenous elders and knowledge keepers took radical actions during that time to find ways to continue and preserve traditional practices, even if it meant criminal prosecution.

Although the ban has been lifted, many oppressive qualities of the Indian Act are still in force today. Radical Stitch, which continues to Aug. 28, challenges outdated display pedagogies of Indigenous content, making this exhibition as radical as the ancestors who inspired its conception. It is indicative of Indigenous techniques, skills and humour. Carefully and thoughtfully curated, it incorporates modern display epistemologies and pedagogies, stepping away from common pre-contact inspirations.

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“Radical Stitch,” 2022, installation view at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina (photo by Don Hall, courtesy MAG)

Sherry Farrell Racette, who curated the show along with Michelle LaVallee and Cathy Mattes, mused during the opening remarks that one early name they thought of for the exhibition was “The Big Ass Bead Show.” This humour, so typical of Indigenous people, was appreciated. And, under no circumstances, does it overstate how many beads are on display in the exhibition, which features works by 48 artists – everyone from Dana Claxton, Shelley Niro, Ruth Cuthand, Margaret Nazon and Christi Belcourt to Catherine Blackburn, Katherine Boyer, Hannah Claus and Maria Hupfield, along with others too numerous to list.

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Vanessa Dion Fletcher, “Relationship or Transaction,” 2014

$5 Canadian notes, screenprints and jute twine (collection of Seneca Art; photo by Don Hall, courtesy of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina) and (left) Barry Ace, “Mino-bimaadiziwin (The Way of Good Life) - Men's Regalia/Women’s Regalia,” 2017, mixed media (courtesy of the artist and Heffel, Vancouver)

Of course, Radical Stitch includes much more than traditional stitching and beadwork. There are plenty of examples of modern depictions of what can constitute art, works where the beadwork and stitching separate themselves from arts and crafts with clear directives. For instance, Vanessa Dion Fletcher’s Relationship or Transaction, a recreation of the 1764 Western Great Lakes Covenant Chain Confederacy Wampum Belt is a large-scale sculpture with a big message. Dion Fletcher used $5 bills to replace quahog and whelk beads, encouraging viewers to consider the role of money in bypassing nation-to-nation treaty relationships under colonialism.

The process of making a Wampum belt is as sacred as the belt itself. Dion Fletcher understood it was essential to find a modern way of reflecting the sacred meaning behind the original Wampum belt. Since the original belt was created to honour both sides of the treaties, Dion Fletcher’s work is a deliberate shot at the Canadian government: Five-dollar band payouts and lifetime use of currency to make up for broken treaties. 

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Nadia Myre, “Meditations on Red 2 & 5,” 2013

digital print on plexiglass (Indigenous Art Collection, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada; photo courtesy of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina)

Dion Fletcher is just one of many artists in the show who incorporate modern symbolism alongside traditional techniques. From a distance, Nadia Myre’s enlarged macro photos of abstract beadwork designs are perfectly imperfect, especially with the multiple shades of red and white beads. But stand close to the large print, and minor variations in the shapes of the seed beads and their stitches appear. It’s like Myre is sharing a glimpse into beading techniques, inviting viewers to see the process. 

Then, there is a Dirty J Cloth, a beaded wipe by Nico Williams that’s set on a plinth among other beaded pieces, seemingly left there by accident by someone cleaning. The immaculate detail of its beadwork is nothing short of perfection. Williams makes a hilarious statement about art while, at the same time, destroying any notion that beadwork has to be traditional or beautiful.

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Jamie Okuma, “Beaded Boots,” 2017

antique glass, steel, brass and aluminum on re-appropriated boots by Giuseppe Zanotti (collection of Ellen and Bill Taubman; photo by Don Hall, courtesy of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina)

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Jamie Okuma, “Beaded Boots” (detail), 2017

antique glass, steel, brass and aluminum on re-appropriated boots by Giuseppe Zanotti (collection of Ellen and Bill Taubman; photo by Don Hall, courtesy of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina)

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The Potlatch ban was lifted a lifetime ago, making Radical Stitch proof that Indigenous artists are reclaiming their culture and are surviving intergenerational oppression by learning once-illegal practices and continuing traditions in contemporary fashion.  Ultimately, Radical Stitch demonstrates that Indigenous artists are creating a new art movement. Birthed and inspired by radical ancestors who defied the assimilation of their culture, today’s artists are participating in a great rebirth, the “Indigissance.” To that end, the Indigissance is not static. It will be ever-changing as Indigenous artists continue to be inspired by past traditions, present-day realities and future visions. ■

Radical Stitch at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina from Apr. 30 to Aug. 28, 2022.

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