Feature artist for April 2020: Christi Belcourt

(ANNews) – The stunning image on the cover of this month’s Alberta Native News is by gifted artist and earth activist Christi Belcourt. It is a detail of a painting titled, “The Crow Taught Her. She Listened.”  

Belcourt is a Michif artist and author whose ancestry originates from the Metis historic community of Manitou Sakhigan (Lac Ste. Anne) Alberta. In addition to her paintings she is also renowned as a community-based artist, environmentalist and advocate for the lands, waters and Indigenous peoples. She is currently a lead organizer for the Onaman Collective which focuses on resurgence of language and land-based practices.

Belcourt is internationally acclaimed for her gorgeous breath-taking paintings that celebrate the tradition of Metis floral beadwork. She is beloved around the world for her generosity and kindness in sharing her art and her message. She is well known in Alberta for the public art she has created here with Isaac Murdoch, including a powerful Thunderbird painting at MacEwan University’s Indigenous Centre in Edmonton designed to inspire students to stand up for water and land protection. Belcourt and Murdoch also created a magnificent mural at the iHuman Centre in Edmonton.

In a statement about “The Crow Taught Her. She Listened.” Belcourt said, “All that surrounds us is spiritual. The animals have messages and so do the plants. We have to learn to listen. When we do, we survive as a species. We are one with everything. All is only one.”

The artist also gives us a clue as to what the Crow is saying. Belcourt wrote, “The trees are your lungs. The rivers, your veins,” he said. “As you breathe, so does the world.”

“In times of sickness, we need to turn to our stories,” continues Belcourt. “The ones that provide the teachings on what to do, and how to live. We need to remember the magic that exists on this earth. Our stories remind us to return to the power of our ceremonies, of the animals and of the plants and spirits that surround us for solutions. To always give our offerings and believe in these powers so we can ask for health for our loved ones.”

For more information and offerings by Christi Belcourt see Christibelcourt.com or follow her on Facebook / Christi Belcourt. She is offering fabulous colouring pages for folks who are at home, responsibly self isolating in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Colouring is a wonderful activity to reduce stress and create something beautiful. We invite our readers to colour this page, take a picture or scan it and send to us at [email protected].

A Colouring Gift by Christi Belcourt