The Burns Family Healing Camp
Exhibition at All Saints Anglican Cathedral, 10035 103 St NW, Edmonton
Begins March 1, 2020
produced by Bleeding Heart Art Space
In late summer of 2019, generations of the Burns family gathered for a healing cultural camp on the shores of Pigeon Lake, the Wapihoo (White Owl) Healing Camp.
For the next six weeks, you can experience the camp from the perspective of Burns family members. The poetry, personal photographs, and stories they graciously share with us in this exhibit provide an opening for each of us to understand more deeply the courage, strength, and vision that healing - body, mind, heart, and spirit - from their experiences of residential school requires, and the great power of recovering Cree language, culture, and ceremonies.
Here is a glimpse of some of the voices and views from the exhibit -
“The Healing camp was the beginning of our journey to re-integrate our Cree culture and bring forth land-based teachings and the traditions ...The Healing ceremonies led by Elders are a big part of my spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being and will assist the next generation with stronger and better ways to cope when facing adversity.”
Norma Burns
“The healing cultural camp brought new beginnings for myself and my own family as we continue this journey, moving forward and learning our traditional sacred culture. The Apology from the Anglican Church was extremely emotional to hear first hand...it is deeply needed. As an Elder said, forgiveness is not forgetting but in time the shadows will fade. I am looking forward to many more family healing gatherings.”
Marcia Burns
“I can never go back to what once was. All I can do is move forward in my healing journey and become a better person, mother, and grandmother. Healing means being fully present and conscious. I am willing and able to reclaim what was taken from me. Through ceremonies, Indigenous knowledge, and ancestral teaching from our Elders, I pray my daughters and grand-daughters will become more powerful than ever and realize that their own value and worth will never be taken from them.”
Irene Nattress
“I value the teachings, drumming, and dancing of all the members of our family. Participating in activities such as these promote kinship ties and build stronger spirits. The combination of Wāhkohtowin (Kinship) and Sakihitowin (Love) channel wholesome health to all of our emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical states.”
Eliza Hilliar (Burns)