kiskisohcikew, 2018/2019
Kiskisohcikew (they make things to make people remember) is a performance that explores beading as a mnemonic device for language learning. The beading is performed in concert with edited audio recordings of phone interviews with Carrie's Aunt Ivy, the last Nêhiýaw (Cree) speaker in her immediate family. The conversation, which touches on family, language and translation, is then played absent of English words while Carrie beads and practices Nêhiyawêwin (Cree language). English is purposely removed to invoke a sense of longing for the audience, drawing connections between Carrie's feeling for the Nêhiyawêwin that was stolen from her. This performance seeks to reclaim language and perform an act of resistance through making and repetition and is centered in knowledge transmission, language retention, and creative practice that will allow Carrie and future generations to learn Nêhiyawêwin.
Performed at Hold Fast in Newfoundland 2018
Performed at Third Shift in New Brunswick in 2018
