b"HEALING ARTrepresenting the sad reality that Indigenous women are confronted with Mary Ann Grainger'sviolence every single day of the year. impactful sculptureof a woman standingThe dress is never meant to be worn in this realm but is symbolic of in a river of stoneswomen in the spirit world. Its main purpose is to honour and acknow-representing Missingledge MMIWG. It also serves as a sacred item of healing for families and and Murderedcommunities to commemorate their loved ones as they visualize them Indigenous Womenin the beautiful traditional regalia. The Grandmother Earth Dress has and Girls travelled all over the province and even to Australia at the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide Conference, says Solomon. Everywhere that she is brought, people add items to her bundle: copper cups, rattles, brushes, a belt, a scarf, tobacco. We usually use a scarf to wrap it; the scarf is made from an art piece too.There may soon also be a place in the collection for relevant works by non-Indigenous artists. Mary Ann Grainger, a Toronto-based sculptor, recently offered one of her pieces to ONWA. Her Memorial for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls consists of a bronze bust of a woman standing in a river of stones representing the 1,200 Indigenous women who have been murdered or have gone missing in the last 30 years. Though there is no definitive published list of names, I was able to confirm 783, each placed in honour on a rock. The remaining 417 rocks are unnamed, but each represents a woman, Grainger says. I created it out of my own desire to honour the women, as an act of reconciliation because Im not an Indigenous artist. For me, the main purpose of this act of reconciliation was to honour the women and to raise awareness and empathy in the non-Indigenous community towards the issue.Whenever the piece has been publicly exhibited, it has evoked a profound response. People said they had read the report, but when they saw the piece and read the names, all of a sudden there was a much more powerful connection, which is the power of art, says Grainger. Literally, people were getting down, crunching down on the ground, just to feel a connection with these women. Its as if those women were in the room speaking with them. Many people were brought to tears. Solomon says that witnessing this and other pieces will always have a level of healing for all because of the inspiration behind the creations. Knowing that these pieces are created out of somebodys love and pain connects to our empathy and connects to our grief, she says. For Indigenous people who have been personally affected, however, there is an even greater healing benefit from creating the art as intention in memory of their loved one, she adds.Respect AccountabilityCollaboration For Clients: For Employers: IntegrityCareer counselling and coaching Pre-screening ofResume and cover letter candidatesassistance Free job postingsJob search assistanceTraining and employment Apprenticeship wage subsidyEntrepreneurship Pre-employment skills andHonestyMarket labour information essential skills trainingHumilityBrantford - 226-387-0912www.NPAAMB.comHead Office - 519-751-8333Fort Erie - 289-303-8195 Hamilton - 289-527-2744 KW - 226-750-8253 St. Catharines - 289-442-525520Spring/Summer 2020"