Sacred Colours
Painting as a Spiritual Practice Two Spirit Perspectives
Two-Spirit individuals are all Indigenous. Two-Spirit is an umbrella term c. 1990s to distinguish Indigenous queer individuals from non-Indigenous queer individuals. The term denotes more than gender/sexual orientation. Two-Spirit refers to spiritual roles and responsibilities that queer people have always held in our communities, e.g., adoptive parents, medicine people, warriors, leaders, etc.
Systemic issues that cause harm to Indigenous people occur most often in health care, education, policing, and social support systems. The objective of this project is to help healthcare workers understand that these systemic problems continue to occur because individuals keep repeating patterns (whether intentional or not).
Everyone has biases. The first thought one has may not be how one really feels. It may be a manifestation of a learned response; we’re all conditioned in this society. This learning experience will help newcomer healthcare professionals recognize misinformation that stems from external conditioning.
Creating a safe space and starting a creative mindful practice encourages honest reflection and allows participants to work through their self-healing/growth journeys. In this project artist Cynthia Nault leads learners though a painting exercise, while sharing personal stories, anecdotes, facts, and statistics on the reality of being an Indigenous person in Canada from her perspective as Niizhiwag Anishnaabekwe (Two-Spirit Ojibwe woman).
Learning Objectives
- Create a beautiful painting of your own making
- Hone visual expression
- Recognize and shift heteronormative colonial worldviews
- Sharpen empathy skills
Lessons
RECOMMENDED FORMAT: Self-directed, Journal Club, Classroom Course
Go to Facilitation Guides
CURRICULUM DETAILS:
6 Lessons and an Introductory video with supply list
Each Lesson approx. 90 minutes
Est. total length of curriculum: 5 hours
INSTRUCTIONS:
- You will need painting supplies to participate in this learning. Read over the Supply List document and watch the Getting Ready to Paint video for additional help preparing for your learning.
- Download/print and review the Self-Reflection document.
- Once you have the supplies gathered, watch the Session series to get painting!
Hover over each resource button for estimated length.
We invite you to participate in this evaluation survey about your most recent experience with our website. You can complete this evaluation after each learning resource you finish, or after you have worked through multiple resources.
Additional Resources
Click above link to view Additional Resources.
Refer to the Self-Reflection document for additional recommended reading.
Title: A Prayer for Water (2018)
An abstract-like / impressionist-like, mostly light blue painting separated into three “segments” by prayer beads in the shape of a “Y”. The top left corner has a dragonfly, patterns from below showing through their wings; the top right section has an eagle soaring through the sky, with swirls, leaves, and dots below their wings, representing prayers being brought up to Creator; the bottom section has a flower floating on top of the water, with water rippling out from the flower. It has some yellows, some purple, and pink. Signature “Cynthia Louise ’18” in the bottom right corner.
Contributors
