Lana Whiskeyjack & Alsena White
Lana Whiskeyjack ayisîyiniw ôta asiskiy - I am human from this earth. Lana is a multidisciplinary artist and educator and member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, Treaty 6 Territory, Canada. Lana began her artistic training as a toddler drawing on blank empty walls followed by formal training in ceramic sculpture at Red Deer College (1996), University of Alberta (1999) and environmental sculpture at Pont Aven School of Art in France (2000). Lana also holds a B.A. (Honours) in Art and Culture (2004); M.A. in Canadian Studies (2006); and is currently working on her doctorate degree in iyiniw pimâtisiwin kiskeyihtamowin at University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills (UnBQ). The first Indigenous controlled, owned, and operated educational centre in Canada, UnBQ arose from, and is housed in, the former Indian Residential School where two generations of her family attended. Her research, writing and art explores the paradoxes of what it means to be nehiyawiskwew in a Western culture and society and how to reclaim/re-gather/remember ancestral medicine (sacredness and power).
Alsena White Traditional knowledge keeper, storyteller, great-grandmother, language advocate, and artisan; this unique combination of skills and expertise results in an incredible educator and invaluable community resource.