Feathers are another form of Memory, part 1

Déclaration D'artiste

Feathers are another form of memory était d’abord une méditation sur le mythe de la création des Tahltans, où T’sesk'iye Chō libère la lumière dans le monde. J’ai inclus un chapitre de ma thèse de maîtrise Circle (2010) pour  que les gens puissent le lire. Surtout, j’ai inclus la voix de l’un de nos leaders du savoir Tahltan, grand-mère Eva
Callbreath. Elle nous raconte l’histoire, qui commence par un monde sans lumière. Il y a une famille qui garde la lumière. Le récit souligne la quantité de travail nécessaire pour retenir et élever la lumière. Dans mon rêve récurrent sur cette action de T’sesk'iye Chō et la libération de la lumière, j’ai aussi commencé à imaginer comment l’absence de lumière se ressentait sur le corps. J’ai réfléchi aux outils nécessaires pour que cette action, cette élévation de la lumière, se produise. Et je reviens souvent à cette famille qui détenait autrefois la lumière, et qui doit détenir l’obscurité maintenant. C’est dans cet esprit que j’ai décidé d’inclure un texte antérieur, un poème intitulé A study for a Winter Count (2005), tiré d’un projet de conservation virtuelle de Daina Warren et de la galerie Grunt. Je continue à être fasciné par le mythe de la création des Tahltans, par le fait que dans les mots, il n’y a pas de début ou de fin « officiels ». L’histoire est en cours. Elle continue à se développer, et le travail pour contribuer à cette cosmologie se poursuit. Je rêve toujours que T’sesk'iye Chō ramènera un jour l’obscurité, mais que nous ne devons pas avoir peur de l’obscurité.

Ces méditations se sont à nouveau tournées vers notre mère et les transformations continues reliées à la maladie d’Alzheimer. J’avais probablement 18 ans lorsque j’ai entendu le mot Alzheimer pour la première fois, et au cours des dix dernières années de l’évolution de la maladie de maman, il n’y a pas un jour où je ne pense pas ou ne dis pas ce mot à voix haute. Je me tourne vers la création artistique pour m’aider à comprendre, honorer, transcender l’expérience de notre mère. En tant qu’artiste, j’ai décidé de devenir un voyageur temporel, car je veux comprendre comment soutenir ses transformations. Je me suis tourné vers l’art non pas pour décrire son expérience, mais pour centrer ses connaissances et son expertise. D’innombrables vidéos YouTube, articles, études scientifiques, rapports de médecins, essais, fictions et poèmes sont remplis de mots pour nous « raconter » l’expérience de la maladie d’Alzheimer. Je ne veux pas manquer de respect à toutes ces choses, qui ont aidé tant d’entre nous face à cette maladie débilitante. Mais comme beaucoup d’entre nous qui avons un être cher vivant avec la maladie d’Alzheimer et la démence, je refuse de la considérer comme ayant une déficience quelconque.

Feathers are another form of memory a comme objectif d’honorer la façon dont le savoir Tahltan est encore présent chez les personnes atteintes de la maladie d’Alzheimer. Nous entrons dans cette partie du voyage du savoir après que T’sesk'iye Chō ait trouvé et volé la lumière pour la partager avec le reste de nous. Nous entrons dans cette histoire, admirant T’sesk'iye Chō qui n’a pas peur des ténèbres. Le mouvement des ailes permet de déplacer un corps à travers le territoire, et il est toujours reconnaissable, que cette personne soit atteinte d’Alzheimer ou non. Ce retour dans les ténèbres ne peut pas être une conclusion. Ce n’est pas un fondu au noir. Ce n’est pas la fin du film. La lumière est compliquée par les ténèbres de manière enrichissante. Ces complications nous invitent à reconsidérer notre relation au savoir, et aux pratiques l’entourant. La mémoire ne devrait jamais se limiter aux fins. Il faut une famille, un village, une communauté pour bien se souvenir et, lors de chaque cycle, les petits Crows contribuent à refaire le monde.

Je l’admets, la maladie d’Alzheimer de ma mère me fait perdre mes repères. Ce sentiment est amplifié chaque jour parce que le temps passe vite, et que la génétique de notre famille qui mène à l’Alzheimer. Malgré tout, chaque jour, nous faisons beaucoup d’efforts. Ma mère fait beaucoup d’efforts. Notre mère, et notre famille vivent avec cette maladie depuis dix ans maintenant. Comme le dit notre père, « chaque jour est un nouveau jour avec l’Alzheimer ». Il a tellement raison.

Je tiens à souligner l’essentielle contribution d’Isaac King, sans qui ceci n’aurait pas été possible.

Je tiens également à souligner l’incroyable talent et la force de notre mère Janell Morin. Tu es et continues d’être une contributrice importante aux façons d’être des Tahltans.

Le texte suivant est un extrait d’un travail universitaire. Pour cette raison, il ne sera pas traduit vers le français.

RIVER STONE SPEAKING THE STORY OF TAHLTAN CREATION

Tahltan ways of knowing are reflected in the story of light. The story builds a foundation for our continued relationship to the land. For example, in a story where there is no light the development of knowledge for moving on the land in darkness requires a very intimate and sophisticated understanding of landscape. The light reflects a new understanding and even deeper understanding of the environment. The story models how Tahltan people are connected to the Crow person who gave the light. The story also models how we, as Tahltan people, are expected to give back and share what we have with the other members of our community. An important performance in the Tahltan Creation story is the act of giving the light. This significant gift and the act of giving so freely is another key demonstration of Tahltan ways of knowing. The finding of the light was important but this act of giving the light made life easier for all who travel on the land. At the beginning of the story there is no light in the world. Time still happens. People are still living on the land. The light is more like a dream. Tsesk‟iye Cho (Crow) hears the cries of his fellow animals. Tsesk‟iye Cho hears their weariness for the darkness and decides to find another way. Crow decides to find the light. 

The voice of our respected elder Grandma Eva Callbreath tells this version. This version of the story is found in a compilation called Tahltan Native Studies (1984) published by the Tahltan Indian Band in partnership with School District 87. A dedication in the book reads, “For all Tahltan Indian Children… So you will better know and understand the ways of your people.” I‟ve re-edited the published version to reflect the performative nature of our spoken Tahltan language and our Grandma Eva‟s storytelling.

How Crow got the Sun, Moon, and Daylight 
Long, long time ago, there was a man and wife who has a daughter 
When the time came she became a woman, they took her to a cave far from the village 
They put her in that cave and they put a moose skin over her head 
That moose skin came to her knees 
They make her stay in the cave 
Only women can come to see her 
They brought sewing for her to do 
They brought roots and moss and they put it around her neck like a necklace 
Her mother tied just like string around her fingers 
That was to make her so she wouldn‟t be lazy 
They put fancy little decoration right beside her hand where that string is tied 
That daughter couldn‟t see anyone 
She just learned how to sew and make things 
If the women didn‟t think it was good, they tore it apart and made her do it over again 
She learned everything 
Two months she stay in that hole in the rock 
Then they take the string off her hand and the moss and roots from her neck 
They went to clearing and found young trees 
They tied the string from her hand to a brand and it flapped and moved in the wind 
That was to always keep her fingers busy 
The moss and roots they put on a tree to give her luck 
To always bring good luck to her 
Now the daughter could go home 
Her parents wanted to keep her good so she could marry some nice man 
They made little place for her to stay behind their own house 
She never went anywhere 
She just go from her place to her parents 
She was real good and never fool around with anyone 
They watch careful to even see what she want and drink to make sure she don‟t swallow anything to make her pregnant 
Crow, he know that girl‟s father keep sun, moon, and daylight for himself in his house 
He think, how am I going to get light for the world? 
One day he make himself as small as a speck of dirt 
He put himself into her cup of water 
Her mother bring her water to drink 
The daughter say, Throw that water away. There‟s a speck of dirt in it 
So they spill the water and Crow jump out 
He watch that girl 18 
Just as she was ready to drink again, he jump to her lips as just a small speck and she swallowed him 
After a while that girl said, Mother, I don‟t know why something is growing in my womb 
The mother said, Maybe you not careful 
But the girl said, How come? You never see anyone around here? 
They know she‟s been good 
So they wait 
Here, in nine months she have a little baby boy 
They wonder how come 
The father say, Wait until he can talk, then we learn how he come here 
They wait 
That little boy grow fast 
One day he can walk around 
He‟s about as big as my grandchild – five years old 
That kid he see moon on the wall 
He start to cry for it 
He cry, cry, cry 
He won‟t stop crying for that moon 
But his grandfather won‟t give it to him 
He cry until grandmother say, Oh, why don‟t you give him the moon to play with? 
He won‟t hurt it 
Then you can put it back 
Don‟t be so stingy 
So grandfather give him the moon 
That little boy he play with it for a little while then he say, Grandpa, give me the sun to play with 
But grandfather don‟t want to so that boy cries 
Grandma says, Give him the sun, maybe he get headache and get sick from crying 
So grandfather give him the sun to play with 
He play with that 
Then he ask for daylight, Give me the daylight to play with Grandpa 
Grandpa say No 
but that kid cry so much he finally give it to him 
When that boy got daylight, he grab the moon and the sun and quick as anything he turn to crow and fly up through the smoke hole in the roof 
Long ago, you know, they have five on the floor and hole in roof for smoke 
Crow go CAW! and he is gone 
When he get outside, he throw the moon in the sky and theres a great loud noise in the world 
CRASH! 
Then he throw the sun up in the air and there is another really loud nose 
All the animals get really scared 
They start running 
The fish go to the seas 
The goats and sheep ran to the mountains 
The beaver to the rivers 
All the animals ran 
That‟s how we came to have animals all over the world 
Martin ran up a tree 
He see crow and he see he‟s got daylight and he shout out daylight coming, daylight coming! 
Grizzly bear was under the tree 
He scared and in such a hurry to run, he put his moccasins on the wrong feet 
That‟s why if you look at grizzly tracks, you see he got toe on wrong side of foot 
All those animals have always had darkness 
Now they got sun, moon and daylight 

(Callbreath, 37) 

Crow's act of giving changed the community relationship to the land. This contribution supported the survival of the family. I see reflections of this today in our community when hunters distribute freshly gathered moose meat to elders, at potlatches when gifts are giving to guests and opposite clans, and when elders share their knowledge. If we were going to try and create a form for the structures of Tahltan epistemological practice, we would see the finding of the light as one part and the giving of the light as the other significant piece of that structure. The light made life better on the land. Life on the land continues. In this sense, the gathering of light could also be understood as the gathering of knowledge, or food, or medicine, or stories, or songs, or laughter, or history, or art, or tears. Tahltan knowledge changed because of the light. 

I want to examine Crow as a speaker of the language. Crow is an active searcher of the light. We know story because the Crow told the story to someone. In reflecting on Crow as a speaker of the language we know that the spoken words create images of the land. We 20 are able to travel on this hunting trip for light. Language is given freely. We see small acts of this giving throughout the entire story. The grandma gives language freely to the Crow. The grandpa gives language freely, as well as his possessions, to the Crow. The daughter gives language to the Crow. These actions in the story reflect performances of Tahltan meaning. If we imagine these acts as performances of language, then we see the grandfather giving knowledge to the grandchild. Most importantly, the grandparents rarely say no. They give freely of what they know. Knowledge is a gift. Everyone deserves to receive knowledge. As a new speaker of Tahltan language I am only just returning to the meaning connected to this story. The meaning, shape of performance, and organizing of structure, can only help us return to the spoken language and return experience to others looking to learn Tahltan language. Then potential Tahltan language speakers become like Crow searching again for light. 

Morin, P. Circle.  2010. UBCO, MFA Thesis. (16-20)