09/22/2025
Mastercard Foundation Statement
‘miskwa-kamaw sipiy’ bloody river, northern Cree dialect, (in reference to the color of the water)
This commissioned work reflects my journey through motherhood, artistry, and self-reclamation, which has challenged me to pursue bigger dreams for my family and for the lands I call home in the muddy waters of Treaty No. 1, within the Red River Valley. As a Swampy Cree woman of Peguis First Nation, raised in Winnipeg with the urban Indigenous experience, I carry the impacts of Indian Residential Schools and Day Schools in my family, and the legacy of my mother’s experience as a Sixties Scoop survivor and child of care. Being raised in this reality, and now as an adult reclaiming these practices for myself and my family, is my personal act of truth and reconciliation. Through this piece, I reclaim a dream to pass down teachings while looking seven generations ahead, guided by the understanding that we must look equally far behind us. In doing so, I extend kinship and culture to the world, continuing the work of reclamation as an Indigenous woman and multidisciplinary artist. By for Art Commissioned for Truth and Reconciliation Day September 30th 2025.
ᑭᓇᓈᐢᑯᒥᑎᐣ, ekosi, thank you,
Diandre Thomas-Hart
