The beaded moccasin vamps pictured were created for Walking With Our Sisters: A Commemorative Art Installation for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Canada
I was introduced to the project through a beading circle arranged by Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS) of San Francisco.
"Over 600+ native women in Canada are reported missing or murdered in the last 20 years. Many vanished without a trace with inadequate inquiry into their disappearance or slaying paid by the media, the general public, politicians and even law enforcement. This is a travesty of justice.
Walking With Our Sisters is a commemorative art installation of 600+ moccasin vamps (tops) created and donated by hundreds of caring and concerned individuals to draw attention to this injustice. The large collaborative art piece will be made available to the public through selected galleries and locations. The work exists as a floor installation made up of beaded vamps arranged in a winding path formation on fabric and includes cedar boughs. Viewers remove their shoes to walk on a path of cloth alongside the vamps throughout the duration of the exhibition.
Each pair of vamps represents one missing or murdered indigenous woman. The unfinished moccasins represent the unfinished lives of the women whose lives were cut short by murder. Collectively together the vamps represent all these women; paying respect to their lives and existence on this earth. They are not forgotten. They are sisters, mothers, aunties, daughters, cousins, grandmothers, wives and partners. They have been cared for, they have been loved, they are missing and they have not been forgotten."
For an incredible array of photos and more information on the exhibit, please visit Walking With Our Sisters at http://walkingwithoursisters.ca/
