Conference

2008 CANDO Conference Logo & Theme: “Economic Development - Power of Technology”

This year’s conference logo was designed by Tim Whiskeychan, Cree Artist from Waskaganish First Nation. T he center of the logo represents the heart beat of the drum; zigzag - remembering our grandfather until immortal of time. The multi colours in the center represent different nations and ideas. The center of the logo also represents the transition, where we came from and leading towards the future. “Teepee to the Technology” - in other words we came a long way, we have adapted and are looking forward for the future of the Aboriginal Nation. The three feathers make our destiny into an equilibrium state towards the future for the First Nations across the country. The red ark represents the drum and the First Nation of this country. The medicine wheel colours along the edges represent the four directions. The three lines leading from the center with the dots represent the micro chip where our nation is going to lead. The small ark below the zigzag is the eastern door, where the sun rises, it also lets us know that we are always looking forward to a bright new day. Last but not least, we are bringing our ancient knowledge to the new world to show our strength and who we are as the First Nation - able to sustain ourselves despite the harsh environment we are living in.

Artist Tim Whiskeychan

Every Christmas and on his birthday, Tim Whiskeychan used to get crayons as a gift.

There was no money for toys. If he didn’t get crayons, his dad would make him a toy from a cardboard cereal box, or fix up something he had picked up at the garbage dump.

But it was the crayons that attracted Tim. He loved them so much he used to take them to bed with him every night.

By the time Tim started school he was pretty good at drawing and colouring. In elementary school in Chapais he won a prize for drawing a picture of the school.

The older he got the more detailed he became with his drawings and schoolteachers soon recognized his talent.

He has developed that talent into a hobby that pays him some pretty serious spending money. Eventually he hopes to make a living for his wife and young daughter Emmajane in Waskaganish where his studio is located in the basement of his father’s house.

Just like his childhood, hardly a day goes by that Tim doesn’t spend several hours in his studio. He tries to paint for at least one hour before work and then two or three hours each evening when his daughter has gone to bed.

He is one of the Cree Nation’s best-known artists, does a lot of contract work for Cree facilities and still admires his father’s remarkable on-going influence on his life.

While he tried to create tamarack birds like his dad, Tim has also tackled the traditional Cree art of carving in wood and soapstone. His favourite medium is painting . . . and he has developed a unique style using an airbrush.

Not forgetting how much encouragement his dad has been over the years, Tim is passing on his knowledge to the next generation of Crees as a member of the board of directors of the fledgling Cree Native Arts and Crafts Association.

Tim’s full-time work is with the Waskaganish Cultural Institute where he is Curator of Creative Arts.

He has fond memories of his childhood doing jigsaw puzzles with his mother, Flora Sackabutskum (which means Flower Blooming in Cree). “We would sit together for hours and it helped me with patience; learning to work hard at something and stick with it until I achieved something.” She was an artistic person, very good with beadwork until her failing eyesight made it difficult to do the delicate work.

His dad used to make tamarack birds from willow branches at the kitchen table and they were sold at the Hudson’s Bay Store as decoys for hunting.

Growing up in this artistic house it was no surprise when he started winning prizes for is drawings and sketches at school and later in college in Sudbury, he was top of his class each year.

Tim’s passion for painting has grown over the years and he has experimented with many techniques to capture the lifestyle and traditions of the Crees. He’s used etchings, acrylics, watercolours, stained glass, cut steel panes and collage.

Currently he is developing a very interesting system, using what he calls an airbrush. It is compressed air which shoots paint through a tiny nozzle. The amount of paint squirting through gun is controlled – similar to a water pistol - by Tim. That’s an art in itself, but then he uses pieces of cardboard from ripped filing folders to create shapes and angles.

He also uses pine branches and feathers to create some amazing effects that don’t look a bit like branches and feathers when he is done.

Just as he learned from his mom and dad. Tim is noticing that his daughter, Emmajane, who will be three this fall, is already handy with a paintbrush.

“She’s so spontaneous. I should be like her and go with the flow,” says Tim. “She likes going wild with the brush, splashing and dabbing and doodling

“Sometimes I have to watch that she doesn’t paint over my creations,” says Trim, “as she works along with me.”

And when she does paint on one of her dad’s creations? No problem, he just airbrushes over it the next time he is alone.

When he’s with his daughter Tim just loves to see her having fun painting – just as his mom and dad used to quietly encourage him to develop his artistic talents.