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Built on Genocide
Built on Genocide
Date & Time
September 22, 2021 – October 24, 2021 EDT
Location
Accessibility
ASL Summary
Audio Description
Radio LUMI
Visual Story
To Learn more about the Accessibility features of this project click on the Visual Story link above
Built on Genocide is a reckoning, a call to action, and an unflinching look at the colonial foundations of Canada that remain intact today. Created by Indigenous artist Jay Soule | CHIPPEWAR from the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation (Deshkaan Ziibing Anishinaabeg), Built on Genocide is a powerful visual record of the 19th-century buffalo genocide that accompanied John A. MacDonald’s colonial expansion west with the railroad. In the mid-19th century, an estimated 30 to 60 million buffalo roamed the prairies, by the late 1880s, fewer than 300 remained. As the buffalo were slaughtered and the prairie ecosystem decimated, Indigenous peoples were robbed of their foods, lands, and cultures. The buffalo genocide became a genocide of the people.
Working from archival records, Soule combines installation and paintings to connect the past with the present, demanding the uncomfortable acknowledgement that Canada is a nation built on genocide.
Built on Genocide Poster Series
Event Supporters
The work of Jay Soule | CHIPPEWAR
How Much is that Indian in the Window by Jay Soule | CHIPPEWAR
Part of Built on Genocide at Harbourfront Centre
Photo by Cassandra Popescu
Installation by Jay Soule | CHIPPEWAR at Harbourfront Centre representing the 19th century buffalo genocide
Photo by Cassandra Popescu
Artwork by Jay Soule | CHIPPEWAR as part of Built on Genocide at Harbourfront Centre
Photo by Cassandra Popescu
Close-up photo of Jay Soule | CHIPPEWAR’s Built on Genocide installation at Harbourfront Centre
Photo by Cassandra Popescu
Is Canada built on genocide? Learn about Canada’s real history in the series below.
- Not a “New World”: We Were Here
Aanii and welcome. I’m Mnawaate Gordon-Corbiere. I’m Anishinaabe and Cree from M’Chigeeng First Nation where I grew up, though I’ve spent most of my adult years in Toronto. I’ve recently graduated from U of T’s History and English programs. Since graduating, I’ve been working as a historian mainly in Indigenous history. I’ve teamed up here… Continue reading Not a “New World”: We Were Here - Who Wrote Canada’s History? The real story of first contact.Hello everyone! In our first post, I covered a brief overview of the pre-contact years in North America all the way back to the end of the ice age. You have to have a basic understanding of the nations that lived here before we begin discussing Indigenous history in detail. Most important point: these lands… Continue reading Who Wrote Canada’s History? The real story of first contact.
- Contact Continues: Clash and Blending of CulturesHello again and welcome. In the last post we talked about the Indigenous perspectives of first contact with Europeans, trade networks that existed before contact, and how much change the fur trade brought to the continent. The reality is that European and Indigenous ways of life clashed with each other because they were so different.… Continue reading Contact Continues: Clash and Blending of Cultures
- Honour the TreatiesHello again! Mnawaate welcoming you back for a little more real Indigenous history of Canada. Last week we looked at the effects of European contact on the Indigenous population in North America. This was a period of rapid change for Indigenous peoples. Over time, as Europeans decided to settle here, land agreements in the form… Continue reading Honour the Treaties
- Land Acknowledgements and Land BackHello everyone! In my last post I talked about the treaties: what they are, how they began, and what treaties became when colonial powers got involved. Now let’s take a closer look at treaties in relation to the new trend of land acknowledgements. Yes, this week I’ll be discussing land acknowledgements. You’ve probably heard a few or even a lot by now. In recent years they seem to happen at every… Continue reading Land Acknowledgements and Land Back
- Whose Work is Reconciliation?Hello readers! Welcome back. In the last post, we discussed land acknowledgements. Many non-Indigenous peoples see land acknowledgements as one small step towards reconciliation. But what is reconciliation? What does it actually mean? These are the issues I want to talk about today, with a particular focus on residential schools and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Given Canada’s real history, it’s not… Continue reading Whose Work is Reconciliation?
- Land Sovereignty NowWelcome back. In the last post, I talked about residential schools, the harm they caused, and how the Truth and Reconciliation Commission sought to address and heal that trauma. If you’re just jumping into the conversation now I encourage you to read that and other previous posts. Though all the subjects I’ve covered in this… Continue reading Land Sovereignty Now
- Don’t Drink the Water: Boil-Water Advisories and SovereigntyIn my last post I told you about land sovereignty and the strategies Indigenous nations are using to regain their sovereignty. Today we’ll be looking at water issues and access to safe drinking water, which you’ll quickly see are deeply related to land sovereignty. Clean, running water is something we often take for granted. If… Continue reading Don’t Drink the Water: Boil-Water Advisories and Sovereignty
- IS CANADA BUILT ON GENOCIDE?Welcome to the last post of this series. I’ve written them in the hope of sharing with you Canada’s real history with Indigenous peoples. And I have one more important reason for writing. I want you to understand Jay Soule, aka CHIPPEWAR’s installation Built on Genocide at the Harbourfront Centre. The theme of Soule’s installation is genocide. Yes, genocide.… Continue reading IS CANADA BUILT ON GENOCIDE?
Built on Genocide Creative Team
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Jay Soule | CHIPPEWAR
Artist
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Denise Bolduc
Creative Producer/Curator
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Leslie McCue
Producer CHIPPEWAR
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Jonathan Elliott
Filmmaker, Built on Genocide Digital Presentation
Denise Bolduc, Creative Director/Curator
Candace Wilde, Producer
Kim Purtell, Producer
Meg MacKay, Associate Producer
Duncan Macmillan, Production Manager
Jalen Innis, Associate Production Manager
Jon Elliott, Filmmaker, Digital Presentation
Mnawaate Gordon-Corbiere, Blog Writer
Jay Soule | CHIPPEWAR, Artist
Leslie McCue – CHIPPEWAR, Producer
CHIPPEWAR Team
Kyle Deleary
Malqalm Peters
Susana Vilchez
Sean Payne
Andrew Hill
Curtis Chmielewski
Alex Wilson
Jen Roomes
Melissa K. Nicoll
Tim Hill
Jaan Poldaas
CHIPPEWAR Volunteers
Jenn Liles
Ronan Gibney
Matthew Ellis
Morgan Ellis
Wes Prat
Ron Peters
Jenny Blackbird
Sabrina Bully
Erika Williams
Brandon Jacko
Ozawamukwaikwe Secord
Cheryl Trudeau