Urban Animals - Art Gallery of Alberta

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The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program First Nations Beliefs As Aboriginal People we hold all life forms in great respect, understanding that each animal has a physical presence, a spiritual power and a life purpose. We believe that all life is interconnected and all beings are reliant on each other. First Nations Perspective of the Animals: Beaver: Moose: Bear: Prairie Dog: Respected as a hard worker, it was good to have a family of beavers near the community. Beavers kept the eco-system and wetlands healthy and vibrant, which in turn helped to provide a balanced landscape for an abundant harvest of medicines. Eaters of the willow, moose meat was rich with the bitter medicine. Like the buffalo, the moose provided the people with hide, meat, everything needed to live and survive, to this day. Buffalo was migratory, but the moose lived year round in bush country. The good waterways created by the beaver kept the moose nearby and thriving. Powerful with a real strong spirit, the Bear gave the people medicines. The bear had more natural power and knowledge. When you went to hunt the bear you would pray and give thanks for his sacrifice. The bear was a teacher of the medicines. The people would pray and ask the bear for help to find the bear root heart medicine and to show us where the berries were that were healthy to eat. When times were hard, the prairie dog kept the people fed. They were the root diggers, with their own medicines, teaching the people to live harmoniously together, such as they did within a communal society. All animals have lessons to teach us. Each animal has a life, has spirit, has a purpose, so when we had to kill one for food, we asked respectfully and with gratitude for their life. Mother Earth and all its beings are equal. The Human Race expects and deserves equal rights, so let us give the same respect to natures’ animals, and with understanding, harmoniously share our urban environment, seeing the nature amongst us as a gift that enriches and blesses all of us. Jaret Sinclair-Gibson AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479 youraga.ca
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program First Nations Beliefs continued Canada’s First Nations peoples value a history of oral tradition that accounts for each group’s origins, history, spirituality, lessons of morality and life skills. Stories bind a community with its past and future and oral traditions are passed from generation to generation. Native religions developed from anthropomorphism and animism philosophies. Animals, plants, trees, and inanimate objects are interpreted in human terms and their relation to the earth, sky and water. A cosmological order exists, within which humans live, that values balance and harmony with all of these forces. While the stories differ from tribe to tribe, all have stories concerning the origins of life on earth, the roles played by various life forms, and the relationships between humans, animals, and other life forms. Bear is a strong Native American symbol. Native American groups regarded the grizzly bear with awe and respect and the bear is a profound symbol of majesty, freedom and power. Some tribes, such as the Cree, adopted the bear as a symbol of successful hunting due to its girth and amazingly effective teeth and claws. Symbolic traits associated with the bear include: - protection - childbearing - motherhood - freedom - discernment - courage - power - unpredictability Rabbit is a symbol in many differenct cultures of the world. Native American groups regarded the rabbit as a trickster. Natives have a special character known as Nanabozho. This is the character of the Great Hare and is considered to be a very powerful mythological character with many legends associated with it. Some tribes looked upon Nanabozho as a hero and even consider the Great Hare to be the creator of the Earth. Nanabozho is also regarded as being a supporter of humans and helps them out in many ways such as bringing fire and light. Some groups also believed that the Great Hare taught sacred rituals to the holy men amongst the Natives. In some tribes, however, Nanabozho is depicted as a clown, a predator and even a thief. Symbolic traits associated with the rabbit include: - fear - overcoming limiting beliefs - fear caller - the rabbit calls upon himself the things he fears the most AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479 youraga.ca
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Urban Animals - Art Gallery of Alberta

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