Reposted by @nativepdx.bsky.social
One of my friends is Native American,
And he told me that there is a practice in some tribes where the tribal leader is a man but he’s chosen by an elder woman, and if at any time that man does violence towards a woman, he is immediately replaced by the woman who appointed him with someone else.
!["NOT FORGOTTEN"
- Maxine Noel
"Our mothers and daughters, our sisters and aunties and grandmothers. Our women are our heart and our spirit, always honoured, never forgotten. I am Dakota Sioux, a woman and mother, and an artist. These are inseparable facets of who I am and how I live in the world. That world, the world we all live and move in, is a place of great and terrible beauty, of wonder, and of tragedy. In this painting I speak to that wonder and beauty and tragedy.
To capture both the wonders and the tragedy, I wanted to include motifs which connect with all the places our people live. Turning first to the West Coast peoples, I am honoured to have been allowed to include the moon image of my friend, artist and visionary Roy Henry Vickers [..] From the North, I incorporated the image of Sedna, the source of all the creatures of the sea. I have always been drawn to the shell and bead work of the Maliseet and other East Coast peoples and in this painting have echoed the fluidity and grace of their compelling designs. And then, the two feathers, acknowledging the Metis, and the peoples of the grasslands and woodlands, of the plains and the forests. Finally, the floating figures throughout the painting are the spirits and the presence of the missing and murdered women.
Missing but never lost.
Always present, always remembered" - Maxine Noel
Partial proceeds from the sale of this image are donated to the Native Women's Association of Canada and their "Sisters In Spirit" Project. For more information visit www.nwac.ca
Maxine was born in Manitoba of Santee Oglala Sioux parents. She spent her early childhood on her mother’s reserve but at the age of six she left to attend an Indian residential school. Maxine’s early career as a legal secretary was soon overshadowed by her preoccupation with painting and drawing.
Maxine Noel signs her artwork with her Sioux name IOYAN MANI, which translates as “Walk Beyond”.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:56xoilmybfpjctxkkdsmfuo7/bafkreihwwqx4ufpgy5w4t2miwfi6tcyvvaiax4rjxvqhv7dku4udymujl4)
