Stop the Silence video raises awareness of violence against Indigenous women in Canada

Category: Social Media, Video Production, Writing and Publishing
Do you see how I see?
Many ghosts in the afterglow of sunset nights
Nature’s beauty lost by the loss of human rights
Daughters deserted, mothers are murdered: the women of First Nations
The afterglow is filled with all of our relations
These words begin a powerful performance written by artists Khodi Dill and Theresa Point.

The video Stop the Silence is being released today as part of a new online initiative to raise awareness of violence against Indigenous women and to raise funds for a gathering of affected families and ensure that they get the supports they need in their struggle for justice.

The Embracing the Families initiative is a collaboration between Beverley Jacobs, a highly respected advocate for the rights of Indigenous women and long-time partner of Amnesty International, and Mix 3 Productions, an Aboriginal owned media company based in Vancouver.

The new website features not only the Stop the Silence video, but also a series of other performances by amazing artists lending their talents to support Embracing the Families. 100 percent of funds raised through this site will be used to organize a gathering of families of missing and murdered women.

Amnesty International is honoured to be part of this important initiative.  From the beginning of our Stolen Sisters campaign in 2004, we have believed in the central importance of working alongside the families who have lost sisters, daughters, aunts and mothers.  We remain convinced that supporting these families, listening to their voices and acting on what they tell us is an indispensable part of stopping this violence.
In the face of violence, injustice and indifference, we know that by working together, we can make a difference. There must be no more stolen sisters.

Skateboard Decks utilising skills of Mumbai’s indigenous carvers

Category: Art

German curator Tobias Megerle has enlisted a group of twelve Mahim woodcarvers to produce one of a kind skateboard decks using the traditional carving method favored in Mumbai, India.  The project, “Final Cut,” was on display at The Loft art space in Mumbai.

Tapa Making Series Part 5: Making the dyes and painting the cloth

Category: Art, Crafts, Pasifika

In the final part of the Tapa Cloth Making series we take a look at what the dyes are made of. In line with the previous parts of this series it is unsurprising that the pigments are taken from plants or earth. The part I found interesting about this video was actually something that Mum said was just “common sense really” as traditional Pacific art was of course based on the resources at hand. However, I still found it fascinating that the different Islands used different colours based on the different kinds of earth or plants they had available – E.g Ochre to make yellow and oranges from New Guinea and Hawaii and Blue from Indigo in the Solomon Islands and Red from the Loa tree in Samoa. I can’t figure out now, why I would believe that it was a colour preference… How fun does the squeezing of the bark look?

Tapa Making Series 4: Dying the cloth

Category: Art, Crafts, Pasifika


How impressive is it that so much stuff can be made from a simple coconut?

The traditional process is long and time consuming, but for those who admire tapa you will know that it is a process worthwhile when you see the finished product and one that is definitely worth learning if you are fortunate enough to have people to teach you. The key here, being PEOPLE as the process cannot really be taught by an individual. As you will see in this video the making of tapa is a collaborative effort. In part 4 of this series, see the how the Tapa cloth is dyed and painted and the number of ladies required to sit and work on a single Tapa.

Tapa Making Series Part 3: Processing the Mulberry

Category: Art, Crafts, Pasifika

I come from the Cook Islands, in particular Rarotonga so the sound of drumming is for dancing and comes from the Pate. In Tonga, the sound of drumming can come from the beating of Mulberry in the making of Tapa cloth. Who knew? I’m gonna be honest and say that I didn’t.

I am always impressed by the work that goes into the Tapa and this series unfolds I too enjoy learning something new. In this video, see how a single piece of bark is beaten, layered and joined. My favourite part is watching how the tiniest blemish on the bark of the tree after being beaten out ends up being a large tear in the cloth and the women will painstakingly patch and repair every tear with…a local starchy potato. THAT is resourceful!