Art That Teaches
Around the “home fire,” generations of Indigenous peoples have learned and passed along faith, values, and identity through the centuries. This year, the CRC’s Indigenous Christian Fellowship (ICF) in Regina, Sask., is bringing many of those teachings to life through a new circular art series. ICF commissioned the series to offer families and children a tangible way to engage with prayers and teachings central to Indigenous Christian life.
The heart of the project is Home Fire Teachings—a set of lessons and prayers intended to guide children in developing virtues such as forgiveness, love, joy, kinship, self-discipline, and spiritual growth. Traditionally these values are shared around the “home fire” by elders, parents, and caregivers. The teachings are meant to spark conversation and reflection, helping children to grow up with a strong foundation of faith and values.
To bring this vision into full form, ICF commissioned Larissa Kitchemonia, an Anishinaabe/Saulteaux artist known for her intuitive and symbolic style, to create the series. Kitchemonia worked from prayers and teachings compiled by Bert Adema, former director of ICF, alongside a committee of elders and community members, to create a series of paintings that each focus on a prayer and frame it with floral and symbolic details.
The series is designed to provide families with resources for teaching values and practices from generation to generation. “The images and texts of the mixed media artwork can be used by family members to encourage reflection that leads to understanding and adoption of healthy personal and communal life practices,” said Adema. “Hopefully the artwork will be a means to help people embrace the biblical injunctions to teach our children well.”
The series is also deeply connected to the history and healing of Indigenous families, said Adema. “The Home Fire Teachings are important to ICF and its community as part of its response to the legacy of destruction of Indigenous families caused by the Canadian Indian Residential School experience,” he said. “The opportunity to teach their children was stolen from Indigenous parents, and healthy childhoods and nurturing by loving parents was stolen from Indigenous children.”
The Home Fire Teachings’ text is presented in English, Cree, and French so that it can be used as an educational resource in schools, homes, and community programs. Adema said he hopes the art will encourage meaningful discussions about values, faith, and community life.
The series is on long-term display at the Campion College library at the University of Regina. Four pieces will rotate on display at a time, allowing visitors to engage with the full collection over time. The series stands as both an artistic achievement and a tool for cultural and spiritual education, reflecting the ways ICF continues to nurture the faith and growth of the community.
The project developed as a collaborative effort involving artists, elders, translators, supporters, and community members. “I am grateful to the many people who helped the Home Fire Teachings artwork come to life,” Adema said, extending special thanks to Larissa Kitchemonia for the artwork, as well as to those who contributed to writing, editing, translation, and design, including the following:
- Michele Neviadomy, Lynda Razor, Tiffany Keewatin
- Simon Moccasin, Melissa Friday, Ashley Hayden
- Georgina Cyr, Yvonne Fourhorn
- Dolores Sand, Arok Wolvengrey, Jean Okimasis, Dualicom
Additional support came from Campion College, anonymous donors, and others who helped bring the series to completion.
“The combined efforts of these people have created a lasting series of artwork that will inspire and encourage people for generations to come,” Adema said.
