Niinbimaadizi/“I Am Alive” was created in collaboration with the Nibi Onji Journey; a traditional canoe journey along Lake Huron that sought to raise awareness and respect for the water. The work, which features an illustration of Lake Huron as a being, aims to explore the current struggle for water to be recognized as a living entity; legally and beyond. Cree syllabics (“I Am Alive”), a writing system thought to be developed by a group of cree in tandem with a colonialist, are purposely featured as an ironic ode to the parallel struggle of indigenous identity in the North American narrative.
