OnamanCollective
Protest banners, 2014-ongoing
Inkjet print
24 x 18 incheseach
Courtesy of Christi Belcourt & Isaac Murdoch
Onaman Collective’s protest banners, created by members Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch, support demonstrations and grassroots organizing against the exploitation of natural resources and extractive activities. Silhouetted representations of people, wildlife, and the natural landscape—which share similarities with the pictographs of Ojibway spirit writing—feature in these works alongside phrases about the sacred nature of the environment and its ties to First Nation spiritual traditions. The ThunderbirdWoman, a powerful figure of protection and nurturing across a range ofIndigenous belief systems, is a recurring symbol in these banners. She is most often accompanied by slogans protesting pipelines that endanger waterways, notably in efforts to halt the expansion of the government-owned Trans MountainPipeline which would disrupt lands and waterways across fifteen First Nation territories.
360 Installation View
Photo Credit Mirna Chacín