The River Talks…

When designing this piece I wanted to somehow show how connected we are as a people to the water. The water that flows throughout Turtle Island and more specifically here in the Chippewa/London area is a big part of who we are and carries one of our greatest responsibilities. The water has taken care of us since the beginning, now it is our time to take care of it.

The 3 circles at the top represent the past, the present and the future. What can we learn from the past to help better the future? Some of our greatest lessons come from our mistakes and how do we improve and grow from those mistakes to be better. The ones who walked before us deserve it, as do the ones who will walk this path after us.

And finally I wanted to incorporate the 4 colors (white, yellow, red and black) from the Anishnaabe Medicine Wheel. The Medicine Wheel is a visual representation of many things in this life, but for this specific piece, it is a representation of the 4 races of man. I wanted to show that this is not just a “native problem”; it is an “everybody problem”. We all need to work together to help protect our most vital resource, our life carrier, the water.

Thunder Day – Mike Cywink

Nimkii Giizis