History is living and continuous; a place of rest, certainty, reconciliation … a place of tranquilized sleep.

- Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge

Women In the Okanagan featured three local female artists, each reflecting on different historical narratives within the region. Through various approaches, viewers were asked to consider the way one reconciles historical memory – and the ways in which those memories can inform, enlighten and construct our notions of place and identity.

The deconstruction of history and its objectivity has been an on-going project for critical theorist and artists alike since the late 1970s. The Western notion of ‘history’ as a linear, master narrative was played with here, as the different relationships to memory and historicism were “juxtaposed to one another, follow one another, overlap and intersect, without one being able to reduce them to a linear schema” (Foucault 15).

In the work of artist Roja Aslani, the historical subject was removed from representation completely, allowing the audience to insert themselves into the historical canon.  Similarly, Tracey Bonneau memorialized the pioneering Sylix nation woman writer Mourning Dove, giving prominence to a history and story often silenced within colonial culture. And lastly, Mariel Belanger reflected on the history and role of her mother, reminding us of the power of women and their impact on the construction of both personal and collective identity. Each piece functioned outside of the dominant colonial canon by inserting into it’s discourse the women and Sylix histories that have for too long been marginalized. In this revived space, viewers were asked to reconsider their understanding of history as a stable, determined entity and instead reflect on the differing perspectives, people and events that have come to shape history in the Okanagan.

Bringing forward the erased cultural, self governance of the Tule Mat Lodge Village, Mariel Belanger engages Sqilxw historical practices of tule harvest and mat lodge construction. It is thought that co-constructing ancestral ways of being and knowing through Tule mat lodge will provide an opportunity to give back to the land, introducing the industriousness required in constructing an actual tule mat lodge and the ingenuity of Syilx people cultivating a sense of cultural pride. As an Indigenous engagement/ visitor protocol-based operations governance model to assist in remediating the colonial agenda through an integrated health, life skills and training strategy constructed in a syilxcentric framework, the tukʷtniɬxʷ – tule mat house pedagogy aims to bring out the distinct character of the northern Okanagan storied land, and the associated issues (emotional, psychological, social, personal, economic, political), which affect the broader community’s capacity-building and collective action focusing on the roles in Summer Lodge community governance.

For more information on Belanger’s current work, click here.

Tracey Kim Bonneau (syilx) is a veteran award-winning television writer and producer residing on the Penticton Indian Reserve in British Columbia, Canada. Her most recent industry accolade include garnering four Leo nominations in 2016 from the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of British Columbia for her original rich cultural documentary series Quest Out-West Wild Food, airing on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) . In 2018 Tracey was awarded the Aboriginal Business Excellence Award from the Penticton Chamber of Commerce for her contributions to the local economy within the film and television industry.

For more information on Bonneau’s current work, click here.