Vernissage for the "Mariage entre le frêne et le bouleau" Exhibit

Mashteuiatsh, Quebec, Sunday, June 21, 2009

I would like to begin by telling you how delighted my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, our daughter Marie-Éden, and I are to be here with you.

It is said that only the tree that has withstood the repeated onslaughts of the wind is truly hearty, because it is in that struggle that its roots, put to the test, grow stronger.

You are that tree planted so firmly in the ground that no wind will ever knock you down. You have thrived for countless generations because of your deep roots in this land.

And it is in the heart of the forest that the Ilnu people have lived for millennia. From these far-reaching spaces that surround us, you drew the necessities of life, thanks to your ingenuity and knowledge.

Bark, wood, sap, branches, leaves—every part of the tree was used for shelter, clothing, healing, travel, nourishment.

The birch for the Ilnu, the ash for the Abenaki. They gave you what you needed to survive in this environment for which you are the guardians, the nitassinan, as you say in your beautiful language. A language that must be protected, not just for your community or your nation, but for each and every one of us, enriching humanity itself.

Between the ash and the birch, the two pillars of the exhibit we are opening today, are gestures repeated thousands of times, from generation to generation.

There are ancestral techniques that have remained unchanged to this day and that stem from experience and skill.

There are life paths, stories of hunting and extraordinary journeys, tales and legends.

And there is also sharing.

The sharing of spaces, the sharing of knowledge, the sharing of cultures and artistic practices.

And like a marriage, where each individual gives a part of himself or herself to enrich the couple as a whole, the Odanak artisans are showcasing their ash weaving experience alongside the masterful birch work of the artisans of your community.

The results of this exchange is this magnificent exhibit, Mariage entre le frêne et le bouleau, presented here, in the Native Museum, which is in itself an invitation for encounter between the peoples who are our deepest roots on this continent.

I have been told that this museum is the result of an extraordinary collaborative effort between the artists of your community and those of other First Nations communities, that it reflects your desire to express your relationship with the world and to share your values with future generations.

I can assure you that you have piqued our curiosity and that my husband, our daughter and I are eager to discover it with you as our guides.

I believe that cultures, when they enrich one other in a spirit of reciprocity, are promises of hope and renewal for all of humanity.

May this marriage between ash and birch give rise to new possibilities, like so many countless leaves on the tree that is the community of Mashteuiatsh.

Thank you.