Lana Whiskeyjack facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lana Whiskeyjack
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| Nationality | Cree |
| Alma mater | Carleton University, University nuhelotʼįne thaiyotsʼį nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills |
| Known for | Art activist and educator |
Lana Whiskeyjack is an artist, writer, and teacher from the Cree Nation. She works with many different types of art. Her work often explores what it is like to be a Cree person in the modern world. A documentary film called Lana Gets Her Talk was made about her and her art.
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Early Life and Schooling
Lana Whiskeyjack is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in northeastern Alberta, Canada. She was mostly raised by her grandmother. Both her grandmother and her mother were survivors of Canada's residential school system. These were schools that Indigenous children were once forced to attend.
Whiskeyjack says she learned traditional arts like quilting and singing from her mother and grandmother. These skills had a big influence on her.
She started her higher education at Red Deer College and the University of Alberta. She later earned degrees from Carleton University in Ottawa. In 2000, she traveled to France to study sculpture. In 2017, Whiskeyjack earned her doctorate degree from University nuhelotʼįne thaiyotsʼį nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills. This university used to be a residential school that her mother and grandmother attended. Today, it is the first university in Canada to be run by Indigenous peoples.
Art with a Message
Whiskeyjack's art is about her experiences as a Cree woman. It focuses on "reclaiming, re-gathering, and remembering" the power and traditions of her ancestors.
The 'pîkiskwe-speak' Tour
In 2017, Canada celebrated its 150th anniversary. Whiskeyjack and filmmaker Beth Wishart MacKenzie received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. They toured the country with an art installation called pîkiskwe-speak.
The installation included Whiskeyjack's art project Lost My Talk and MacKenzie's 37-minute film about how the art was made. Lost My Talk is a triptych, which is an artwork made of three panels. The film shows Whiskeyjack creating the middle part of the piece. The tour visited many Canadian cities, including Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver.
Three Generations of nitêh
In June 2020, a piece of Whiskeyjack's art was stolen from a gallery in Edmonton. The artwork was a beaded medallion called Three Generations of nitêh (my heart). It was made with deer lace and rabbit fur.
The piece was part of the grand opening exhibition for the Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective's new gallery. The opening had been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition finally opened in September 2020.
Work as a Researcher and Teacher
Whiskeyjack is also a researcher and a university professor. She has been an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. She helps Indigenous communities heal and reclaim their culture.
One of her projects, Reconnecting to the Spirit of Language, uses group discussions to help bring back the Cree language. She also works on projects to support Indigenous Two Spirit youth and researches women's health.
Whiskeyjack is also part of a group called RESOLVE. It is a network based at the University of Calgary that researches ways to end violence against women and girls in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Writing for Children
Whiskeyjack wrote a children's book called Nimiywêyihtên: "I Feel Great". The book was illustrated by her daughter, Serina Follette.
