A NEW COLLABORATIVE UNDRIP WORK AT UNIVERSITY OF QUEBEC (MONTREAL) IN NOVEMBER 2024

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Ace’s November 2024 project, kinoownaa (to counsel somebody), is a new collaborative work with law, interdisciplinary students, faculty, including Indigenous participants, at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) and is an extension of his previous work undertaken in Canada, Switzerland, and France addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action  and United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).  This on-going series of collaborations making art out of human rights standards is a “call to action” to heighten the domestic and international profile and urgency for the full implementation UNDRIP and alignment of federal and provincial laws by Canada, the Provinces and international Nation States.

For this project, Ace worked with students enrolled in the course Droit, peuples autochtones, et État canadien:

COURS //JUR6541 Droit, peuples autochtones, et État canadien

L’objectif général de ce cours vise à analyser le droit canadien encadrant les rapports entre l’État et les nations autochtones tant comme véhicule du colonialisme que comme outil de rééquilibrage, en vue d’amorcer une réflexion sur le rôle du droit et des juristes dans la (re)construction des relations entre les nations autochtones et les institutions de l’État.

Sommaire du contenu

Ce cours vise spécifiquement à exposer l’étudiant à une diversité de normes, notamment la Loi sur les Indiens, la partie II de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1982, la Convention de règlement relatives aux pensionnats autochtones et la Déclaration des Nations Unies sur les droits des peuples autochtones, tout en expliquant leur contexte d’émergence et d’application. Il introduit également l’étudiant aux ordres juridiques autochtones. Au terme de ce cours, l’étudiant saura comprendre et analyser ce champ du droit de manière critique et décloisonnée, ainsi qu’envisager son rôle à titre de juriste de façon éthique.

kinoownaa (to counsel somebody)

Kinoownaa (to counsel somebody) consists of a hand-built raku fired vessel created by Ace containing 46 partially and fully beaded floral motifs, hand-written vellum scrolls and tobacco ties for each of the articles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These beaded medallions were created by workshop participants over two days at University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).

A partially opened circular circuit board lid is pierced by two phosphorescent tubes referencing lines of communication emanating from deep within the vessel containing the 46 partially and fully beaded medallions and 3 incomplete. The vessel is surrounded by reflective hexagon shapes that are most commonly found in honeycomb and in star blanket motifs. The hexagon is perceived as a symbol of harmony, balance, community, cooperation and hard work. Just like the hexagon that relies on its equal sides for stability, so too does the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for its global implementation.

Press:

UQAM – Alice Young. Souligner les droits des peuples autochtones, une perle à la fois

For information on Ace’s international and domestic collaborative work addressing human rights standards, see the following projects:

Documents

United Nations: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Province of British Columbia: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act

Department of Justice (CANADA):  Draft UNDA Action Plan 

The artist acknowledges the generous support of Faculté de science politique et de droit de l’UQAM; Doris Farget, Professeure, Département des sciences juridiques de l’UQAM, Directrice du GRIAAC / CIÉRA-MTL; and NISKA (pour Étudiants autochtones), Bureau de l’inclusion et de la réussite étudiante (BIRÉ) (UQAM).

The artist also acknowledges the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council for the creation of the raku vessel through the funding of the Zhaabwaabndaan (to see through) project.

List of participants with UNDRIP Article Number:

              1. Louna Oukil
              2. Melodie Villeneuve
              3. Earl Truelove
              4. Naima Le Nédic
              5. Mila Mailhot
              6. Absentee
              7. Rebecca Dasy
              8. Absentee
              9. Marc-Andre Bourgault
              10. Jessy Jourdain
              11. Cloé Gravelle
              12.  Loric Fortier
              13. Sophie Duval
              14. Alison Escobar
              15. Xiaohan Diao
              16. Ramanpreet Sharma
              17. Sylvestre Desterres
              18. Lea-Marie Tremblay
              19. Camille Rancourt
              20. Marlyse Revol
              21. Nicole Yurkevych
              22. Laetitia Mohamadi
              23. Barry Ace
              24. Jade Bellemare-Rivest
              25. Doris Farget
              26. Debora Bomolo
              27. Roxanne Comtois
              28. Caroline Chandonnet
              29. Mirja Trilsch
              30. Hortense-Femke Héon
              31. Alexis Robitaille-Duclos
              32. Absentee
              33. Helene Piquet
              34. Olivia Giordano
              35. Amélie Deschatelets
              36. Jeanne Boily
              37. Félixe Caron Boudrias
              38. Gabourg Amrita Kamala
              39. Pascale O’Bomsawin
              40. Lola Foubert
              41. Leila Lopez-Proulx
              42. Catherine Bussiére
              43.  Lilou Chaigneau
              44.  Frédérique Forest
              45. Jacques Papy
              46. Berenice Mollen Dupuis
  • kinoownaa (to counsel somebody) (2024) 94 x 69 x 53 cm. Hand-built clay vessel (stone buffed and raku fired), circuit board, plastic, paper, glass-beads, vellum, graphite, tobacco, fabric, metal, copper, sinew. On exhibition at the Gardiner Museum (Toronto).
  • L’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
  • Les Cahiers du CIÉRA