The project theme, Act, made me want to really think about how people interact with art, how it influences them and changes the environemnt. I decided to look into my culture for influence and wanted to expand on our stories. I wanted to shine a light on different Indigenous issues and the history of some historical items, touching upon topics of commercialization and authenticity.

Nanabush is seen as a cultural hero in Anishinaabe stories and is widely known throughout different Indigenous tribes. I interpreted Nanabush how I saw him and started experimenting with different ways to portray such topics. I landed on using satire to fit Nanabush’s trickster personality. Using old cartoon art style, I created different characters based on some Indigenous stereotypes and used them to talk about, make fun of, and illustrate Indigenous issues that I saw fit.

I really wanted to have fun with the different styles and characters, I wanted to illustrate how Nanabush could push this narrative and how he would interact with his surroundings. With the different trading cards, to the little flyers I created, everything is meant to be passed around, handed out, something where the audience can hold it in their hands and look at it, to reinstate the idea of it being commercialized and exploited.