Feature photo is Chaaw Jaadee (Low Tide Woman)

By Kristi Alexandra
@kristialexandra

Artist Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson is celebrating Indigenous feminine power–specifically that of supernatural beings–in Out of Concealment.

The exhibit, on display at the Bill Reid Gallery now until April 5, 2020, shares the teachings of ancient oral traditions from Williams-Davidson’s home of Haida Gwaii in the form of photo collages that combine contemporary fashion and traditional face painting.

Visual representations of several of the island dwelling beings–of which there are more than 500–are on display, giving a visual aid to Haida tradition and law. In essence, Williams-Davidson is bringing them “out of concealment.”

“I believe every one of these supernatural beings shares a law of some guidance for our conduct going forward, and that we haven’t respected those laws as a society,” says Williams-Davidson, who is also an environmental lawyer.

“They’re laws that we’ve worked, within the Haida Nation, to rise up to prominence with Canadian law.”

Take, for example, Landslide Lady, who illustrates the power of earth. But, Williams-Davidson asserts, the law that Landslide Lady instills is about focusing on the positive instead of the negative; holding up others instead of bringing them down; and the power of your word.

Lady in the Moon, by oral tradition, was disrespectful to the bears and to the moon, and so was taken up to live on the moon. “[Lady in the Moon] is a lot about being respectful with your word and how you conduct yourself,” she says.

A new sculptural piece, Plastic Woman, which is made of plastic found on the beaches of Haida Gwaii, also shows up.

Others include ‘Laa.a Jaad (Fine Weather Woman), who controls the Northeast Wind and is a Raven, and Jiila Kuns (Volcano Woman), a powerful ancestress of Eagle lineage.

Of the 500+ supernatural beings that dwell in Haida Gwaii, Williams-Davidson chose to focus on only female or feminine beings.

“Because of the weight of oppression against Indigenous women, I wanted it to be an act of asserting our place in Canada,” she says. “I wanted it to be an act of sovereignty and of strength to show ourselves as women, and connect us back to that.”

Out of Concealment is not only a didactic visual aid for understanding Haida law, but also an act of resistance.

“My mother was fortunate enough not to go to residential school,” she explains. “With my connection to my mother, I felt I learned a lot about the supernatural beings, but I also had to learn the colonial law to represent our nation.”

Law school was an education in colonial oppression, but Williams-Davidson is currently finding a way to fit Haida teachings and traditions into the current system.

“What I’ve found in indigenous culture is, often supernatural elements are not considered in interpreting what is law, and so I really wanted to bring that to the forefront. It is really important to recognize the supernatural aspect, to recognize that these supernatural beings occupy the landscape, and each one of them has a contribution to the box of knowledge of what our laws are,” she says.

“Submissions to the Supreme Court of Canada was the first foray of revealing a supernatural being to the courts so they could understand the forests–we see the forest in a very different way than the rest of society does,” Williams-Davidson says, leaning on her mother’s teachings.

“Grandmothers don’t speak the way that lawyers do, so I wanted to find something that would help us work together.”

And in bringing several feminine supernatural beings “out of concealment,” she certainly has.

Out of Concealment is on display at the Bill Reid Gallery until April 5, 2020. Catch the book launch of Magical Beings, a new children’s book co-authored by Williams-Davidson and Sara Florence Davidson, on November 2 at 2 pm; and the launch of a new oracle deck, Haida Box of Knowledge: Guidance from Supernatural Sisters written by Williams-Davidson and Sharon Blodorn, on November 30 at 2 pm. 

Kristi Alexandra is an unabashed wino and wannabe musician. Her talents include drinking an entire bottle of cabernet sauvignon, singing in the bathtub, and falling asleep.