Sculpture - Albino Raven Mask

Speaking: Ike Charlie

The raven and the concept behind the albino design is prior to science, and what science has proven today is that the albino trait is that of a recessive gene or a dying gene. Prior to the scientific knowledge of it, I guess prior to contact, a lot of First Nations heritage saw that as a supernatural creation, a supernatural way of not just standing out, but saying "look, I'm still here, I'm here, even though the odds may be against me." Or there was some kind of supernatural significance to a sign or relatable content in intervention, higher ups and lower downs. You look at the it [the raven] harder and you're like "oh, that's a raven." And that's what it's saying. It's saying "Look at me." Like the First Nations culture, we're not going anywhere. You might think that it's a dying way of life or maybe a precept to an end, but it's saying look at me. The artwork is one of the strongest vestiges, I think, that kept First Nations culture alive. We think back to the potlatch when you weren't allowed to see it and you couldn't be seen, so that hiding it away and then burning it after use. That's why they made headdresses out of those crate boxes. They were flat panel masks so that they could be destroyed right away, but the raven mask is part of that resurgence saying "we're not going anywhere." The creators, the carvers, the people that are holding onto the stories and the teachings and the character's names and the values in our language, we're the ones that are helping to bring it back. And that was kind of the case at one point after residential schools. And then the banning. They're very similar in timing, but it was all about that. They tried to take the things away that identify us. So, its kind of like a statement piece saying "look - I'm right here."