Alutiiq artist Tanya Lukin Linklater\u2019s practice takes the form of a vast exploration of the concept of perseverance: she brings to light the ways in which Indigenous knowledge, history, and structures have been maintained and nurtured despite systemic erasure by the colonial enterprise. The body\u200a\u2014\u200aparticularly one that has survived resource extraction and cultural dispossession\u200a\u2014\u200ais central to her work, which is articulated around various expressions and strategies of embodiment. Her works, often performative, are concerned with the processes of repair, relearning, and transmission of Indigenous practices, expertise, and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filmed performance is often at the heart of Linklater\u2019s projects. The video This moment an endurance to the end forever<\/em> (2020) focuses on Indigenous forms of knowledge regarding breath and air. Images of her performing at home in North Bay are combined with choreographies by dancers Ivanie Aubin-Malo and Ceinwen Gobert on the banks of the Salmon River. Intercut among the rather contemplative recordings are writings by the artist: \u201cWe sense feel discern an endurance; an insistence a continuance a history; that is ever present and always now.\u201d They recall the repetition of breathing\u200a\u2014\u200aa vital biological function so automatic that it is easily forgotten. Yet they also seem to echo an Indigenous presence that, through the ages, has defied the colonial instruments of cultural genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the various media used by Linklater, textiles hold a significant place in her installations created with Kokum\u200a\u2014\u200a\u201cgrandmother\u201d in Cree\u200a\u2014\u200ascarves. These scarves, traditionally worn by Slavic women, are a way for her to evoke women\u2019s intergenerational, embodied, experiential, and intergenerational knowledge. The installations  Held in the air I never fell (spring lightning sweetgrass song)<\/em> (2022),  grassesgrassesgrasses<\/em> (2022), and Breastbone to sunrise<\/em> (2021) all feature Kokum scarves, which acquire a sculptural and even corporeal presence. The hanging pieces of fabric seem to arise in monumental fashion, like spectral entities from women\u2019s memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated from the French by Ron Ross<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author, curator, and contemporary-art consultant Maude Johnson holds a master\u2019s degree in art history from Concordia University and a bachelor\u2019s degree in art history from UQAM. In her projects, she delves into performative, critical, and curatorial practices by exploring the methodologies, processes, and languages within multidisciplinary approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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