Luminato Festival

In 2021 ANDPVA sponsored the exhibit Built On Genocide by multidisciplinary artist Jay Soule/CHIPPEWAR. The large-scale installation reflects the events and policies throughout Canada’s history that have deliberately undermined and destroyed Indigenous livelihoods.
The work is influenced by the mass genocide of the buffalo because of the colonial railway expansion. The buffalo decimation is an underacknowledged but foundational aspect of “Canadian” history, with consequences that persist today.
Built on Genocide addresses the direct correlation between the genocide of the buffalo and the genocide of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
In 2022 ANDPVA sponsored the festival opening with Juno-nominated and Polaris long-listed Iskwē and her beautiful concert acākosīk (the stars). The songs on acākosīk and The Stars are meant to raise awareness of systemic abuses and societal opinions and the way we’ve been perceived and treated, but also to celebrate our culture and help bridge that gap – to help us find empathy and common ground and connect the way we’re supposed to as people, regardless of race or religion or background,” she shares. “A lot of these issues, while they stem from my experiences and those of my people, are really universally human issues.”