One last Iontkahthóhtha at the Legion

The latest edition of Iontkahthóhtha, the yearly art show put on by the Kanien’keháka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center (KOR) saw the work of 57 Onkwehón:we artists - painters, photographers, and artisans - displayed for all to see at the Kahnawake Legion Hall last week.

Gerald Taiaiake Alfred was one of those who had something on display at the Legion, a display consisting of four photographs taken during a moose hunt, entitled It’s All About The Land.

“I wanted to showcase a part of what I do. A lot of people know work that I do as a writer and the governance work that I do here as a historian, but it was important for me to show that I do these practices too, like I hunt and try my best to stay connected to the land in that way,” said Alfred.

“I always tried, when my son was younger, to get him connected to the land, being a city Native, bringing him up there in the fall and showing him his territory. So that’s what the theme was. That’s how they came together, trying to tell that story.”

The four photos taken, one being a landscape shot of where the hunt was taking place while the other three showed more involved parts of the hunting process, were chosen as they went well together aesthetically, Alfred said.

He said that he appreciates that Iontkahthóhtha is open to anyone, no matter their skill level.

“For me, it’s an opportunity, kind of as someone who’s not trained, not recognized as an artist in that form, to actually learn and begin to develop. I really appreciate the opportunity and feedback that I get from people about the pictures every year,” said Alfred.

Scott Berwick, the manager of KOR’s Arts & Archives Department, said that that is exactly the goal of the show.

“When I first started the show, I wanted artists from all different stages in their careers, whether it be a part-timer artist to a full-time artist that’s made their mark in the art world, because I feel like having those two things on the wall at the same time is very communal, but also very supportive of each other,” said Berwick.

To go along with the visual artists, there was also a special section of the show called “Beyond Sound,” where one could listen to three social songs, the old moccasin dance, the robin dance, and the rabbit dance, in two different forms: a recording of Seneca dancers from the 1970s, and a recording from just a few months ago performed by Kahnawa’kehró:non dancers.

There were also three visiting artists, who came to give presentations: Lindsay Delaronde, who came to give a presentation on the healing power of art; Tai Leclaire, who shared some of what he has been doing in California along with a presentation on the creative process; and Kanontienénhtha Brass, who took a story from Joe McGregor told on K1037’s All Kanien’kéha Radio Talkshow, and turned it into a short movie with help from artist Bruce Boots.

The Harvest Festival was also a big hit, Berwick said, with many of the presenting artists also vending there.

After five years of successfully turning the upper floor of the Legion into an art gallery, Berwick is looking forward to next year, when they should be able to run the show at Kanatahkwèn:ke, the new cultural arts centre.

Berwick said he has had discussions with Kahnawake Tourism about ways to make the show a big part of the landscape at Kanatahkwèn:ke, including the possibility of holding the show for a longer period of time than a single week, tie-in performances, workshops, and more.

“We’re talking about that for next year, but it’s really at the preliminary stages,” said Berwick.

“It is exciting to know that what we could do is much bigger than what we’ve been doing the last five years of the show.”

Alfred said he’s looking forward to that, too.

“Hopefully it’ll be even bigger, because I know we have a lot of talent in this community. The ability to showcase even more people, or maybe even different art forms, that would be something that would be really important for me to see, and I’d really look forward to seeing that,” said Alfred.

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