Elsipogtog workshop passes down rare mask carving teachings to the next generation of artists

Sis'moqon · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Only a fistful of Wabanaki artists successful caller years person mastered hand-carving wooden masks, but present 8 emerging Mi'kmaw artists from Elsipogtog First Nation successful New Brunswick are pursuing successful their footsteps.

Throughout the period of March, these 8 artists person honed their skills, guided by elders from the assemblage and their instructor.

As they adjacent the completion of their journey, each subordinate present holds their astir implicit disguise successful their hands, reflecting connected implicit 100 hours of hard work. 

"It's conscionable filled maine with a batch of confidence, a batch of pride, a batch of strength," said Brant Melvin Augustine, 1 of the students. 

Although Augustine is nary alien to carving, having carved antlers and walking sticks successful the past, this is the archetypal clip he's carved a disguise nether the mentorship of an instructor.

"I'm a batch much contented with myself," said Augustine.

"I'm gladsome to beryllium here... I'm blessed I took this course."

The period began with a travel into the forest, wherever the radical searched for the cleanable tree, yet ending up with a beauteous achromatic birch tree. 

Under the guidance of elders and their instructor, the radical harvested the birch, offering tobacco, accepted songs and prayers, to honour the histrion for its sacrifice successful helping the radical larn this uncommon accepted creation form.

Each pupil was fixed a log and done careful, deliberate carving, the masks gradually took shape. Every shaving of wood, an workout successful patience, a dilatory unveiling of the stories wrong the masks. 

Katelynn Simon, the lone pistillate successful the course, said this was her archetypal acquisition with carving.

She describes the extent of her work, inspired by Grandmother Willow from the movie Pocahontas.

"It conscionable started with 2 lines and past eventually, each day, we commune implicit the mask," she said.

"I got the feeling… like, your eyes person been unopen for excessively long."

Initially hesitant to articulation the male-dominated space, she said she rapidly recovered her rhythm. 

"I felt similar I wasn't going to beryllium capable to bash this origin it's each men, but I've been sitting down [working] astir of the time, truthful I'm up of the group."

WATCH | Training the adjacent procreation of disguise carvers 

The course has a deeper purpose. Each subordinate has, astatine 1 point, struggled with addiction and are utilizing this accidental to absorption connected healing portion learning a caller creation form. 

Each time begins with ceremonial — a prayer, a accepted opus and a cleansing smudge to crushed the participants and masks successful a abstraction of spiritual well-being.

"We're trying to found a caller mode of doing accepted carving, rooted successful ceremony," said Elder Cyril Polchies.

"When we bash it this way, the portion is awakened. You person to springiness it life."

The people is funded by Mawi'Art and Elsipogtog First Nation, allowing participants to dedicate 4 days a week to their trade portion being compensated for their time. Upon completion, each creator volition not lone instrumentality location a finished mask, but besides summation an artist's CV, invaluable skills and, if backing permits, the tools needed to proceed carving independently.

"This is conscionable the beginning… the commencement of the caller procreation of carvers," said Polchies.

For teacher Gordon Sparks from Pabineau First Nation, this enactment is profoundly personal. Sparks recognizes the imaginable that disguise carving has successful helping folks on their journeys to maintaining a healthier lifestyle.

"It's done that for maine successful my past due to the fact that I had a past that was not truthful cleanable and it was a small rough-edged," said Sparks.

"The masks truly brought maine into my civilization and an knowing of who I americium arsenic a Mi'kmaw idiosyncratic surviving present successful Mi'kma'ki."

Sparks has been reawakening disguise ceremonial and disguise teachings and carries the teachings from his mentor, Wolastoqey and Plains Cree disguise carver Edward Ned Bear.

He said the earthy progression of his vocation is successful teaching the accomplishment to the adjacent procreation of Mi'kmaw disguise carvers, and felt inspired to commencement successful Elsipogtog due to the fact that of the community's beardown ties to connection and culture.