For generations, Indigenous people in Canada have lived under the laws and values of European settlers through forced assimilation. The introduction of residential schools, formed by the federal government and instituted by the Catholic and Anglican Church, pulled Indigenous children away from their lands, families, languages and identities. This story focuses on how Indigenous people in the Northwest Territories are moving towards meaningful self-determination by resetting the past. The title comes from the final story of The Book of Dene, a collection of parables from various Indigenous groups in Northern Canada.
“The act of reclaiming culture and identity is an ongoing movement, and my friends here are resilient in a place where symbols and systems of colonization loom large. We can hear colonization when Dene families pray to the Virgin Mary, but we see Indigenization when a young woman cradles the hide of a caribou in her arms. There is a complex tension between the way of the church and the way of the ancestors. While it may be impossible to break free of the colonizers, the subtle, defiant and beautiful acts of resistance gives strength to say ‘we are still here; here is where we shall stay,’” says the photographer.
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Pat Kane is a documentary photographer living in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. He works in small, remote sub-arctic communities to help amplify stories that impact people who live in northern Canada. Most of his projects are about issues important to Indigenous people: connection to the land and identity.
For the first time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Joop Swart Masterclass took place online over a period of four months, and 24 participants and eight masters were selected to make the program more inclusive. The educational experience of the Joop Swart Masterclass is based on an assignment to produce a photo essay around a given theme. This year the theme was ‘Reset’.
