Throughout Canada’s history, Indigenous cultures have been greatly affected by colonization. It is important to acknowledge Indigenous communities’ efforts to maintain and regain parts of their cultures that were damaged or lost over the decades. Art is a meaningful and distinct way of expressing one’s culture. Interdisciplinary Indigenous artist Bryenton Innes—a local Anishinaabe and Mi’kmaw artist and Mt. A alumni—creates art that represents his personal ties to his culture and heritage.
Innes is a musician and artist, making hand-carved Linocut prints, beaded lanyards, medallions, pins (often with pop-culture themes such as Pokémon) and more. He speaks on the importance of Indigenous arts and culture: “So many of these treaties are not based on land cessation, and then a new nation is kind of built on top of them. The existence of arts and culture still being kind of at the groundwork really sets a lot of a base for pushing the continued sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples everywhere.” He emphasizes the significance of art in a hard-to-define culture, and how it is a sort of a tangible base from Indigenous heritage because of its survival throughout history.
Beadwork is the art or craft of stringing together beads using thread or thin wire, creating patterns and designs. It continues to thrive as a cultural and spiritual art form for many Indigenous Peoples. The process is unique to the artist, but like any art, it starts with a general idea of what the piece will be representing. “I know for myself, I also think a lot about what’s available to me, what you might be using. So as an Anishinaabe person by blood, but raised in Mi’kma’ki, it seemed like— while my blood isn’t Mi’kmaw, it’s the community I’ve always grown up with. These are the communities and elders that gave me their teachings,” says Innes, explaining his own beading process. He emphasizes finding balance when using symbols that were taught to him through his community and family.
As for the rest of the practice, it depends on what he is creating. Sometimes Innes puts a lot of thought into what his project is going to become, in order to see something specific represented in his beadwork. Once beaders go through the design process, they usually use a pellon stiffened felt for medallions or pins, and either draw right on the felt or use a tracing paper on top and stitched to it, then go from there. “For a lot of mine, I like to start in one spot and just let the beads kind of grow out from there, kind of naturally and just fill in the space,” shares Innes. The process is tedious and can be quite difficult in some instances, but it remains a very meaningful and tangible piece relative to Innes’ heritage.
As Innes was learning more about Indigenous history, sound and music history, culture, and storytelling, he began to move towards museum and gallery spaces. Through seeing long-lived works and old pieces archived in these spaces, he began to think a lot about how his work was going to interact with those spaces. Innes discusses what his artwork means to him: “Each piece is something that’s alive on its own – it’s not always alive in the same way. We imagine in a colonial mindset, but the spirit is there, and each one has its own spirit. Each stitch holds a story.” Innes highlights his Pokémon pieces, such as his Woodlands Pokémon and the grandfather’s Pokémon collections. Beadwork is not an empty-minded process and there is always an internal dialogue when creating something meaningful – each of those plots and each of those feelings, each stitch that holds things down is what gives the piece its spirit. “So, especially with Pokémon, a lot of those stitches are about how they live in a world that kind of also has the museum and gallery collection space,” says Innes.
“The intention as a crew throughout that project was, while they are welcome to be in gallery spaces and they are kind of intended for those spaces, if they’re not being on display, their stewardship is going to go back to people in my life and the community.” He’d planned that, after they’re done being displayed, they will be sent away to live with and be worn by their caretakers, where they will naturally age and weather. Innes explains that nothing is ever supposed to be infinite and that everything has its cycles of life and eventually returns to the Earth. This idea is important to him when it comes to his work and although some pieces are a little less natural, he tries his best to make sure things go back to the Earth.
Innes is just one of many skilled beadwork artists in Tantramar, but to learn more about his work and maybe find a piece for yourself, find him on Instagram at @bryenton_.
