Sambaa K'e Print Studio: An Introduction

Sambaa K’e Print Studio

An Introduction

Sambaa K’e Print Studio Sambaa K’e, Northwest Territories, Canada, X0E 1Z0

Sambaa K’e Print Studio Year1: from proposition to print

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Contents The Giant who formed Trout Lake (Sambaa K’e)

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Preface by Chief Dolphus Jumbo

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Welcome from Carielyn Jumbo

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Introduction to the Community Alison dePelham

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Development of a Print Studio Gavin Renwick

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Print Making: On the Periphery & Off the Grid Paul Liam Harrison

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First workshops: A Print Community

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My favourite object or place Scott Hudson

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The vision for a Cultural Facility Gavin Renwick

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Acknowledgements 38 Sambaa K’e Print Studio: An Introduction First Published by Sambaa K’e Print Studio Sambaa K’e, Northwest Territories, Canada, 2011

© All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-9877337-0-2 2

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The Giant Who Formed Trout Lake (Sambaa K’e) As written by nine year old Sheyenne Jumbo Published in: ‘Come and Learn with Me’ (Ewo, seh Kedidih) by Sheyenne Jumbo and Mindy Willett

‘A long time ago, before our time, Trout Lake was formed

by Godehlecho, the giant. He was a nice giant. He had a brother named Yambahdeyaa. The two brothers both went separate ways. Yambahdeyaa went south and Godehlecho came north. That’s when Godehlecho decide to have a drink.

He scooped up water to drink with a bowl and that formed Trainer Lake. What he scooped up he put aside, and that is a hill. After the drink, he took a nap in the muskeg. A short while after he lay down to rest, a muskrat wanted to get by the sleeping giant, so the muskrat bit the giant’s ankle vein.

The blood is still there. The giant felt pain so he stretched out his leg. That’s why at the south of the lake there is a long bay.

When he stood up, he left his shape in the muskeg, which became Sambaa K’e.’

Sambaa K’e/Trout Lake

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Preface Chief Dolphus Jumbo Like them we must also be open to new things. The point is having the choice. This way of moving forward by being connected with our ancestors bridges the generational gap between our youth and our elders. It’s very important that we proceed without losing what it truly means to be Dene.

Sambaa K’e exists between two worlds. We walk down the trail that has the old ways on one side and all the benefits of our modern society on the other side. Our challenge, everyday, is to stay balanced.

Our community functions as a point of contact with government and modern communications while being the a place that allows us to easily access the resources and seasonal activities of our homeland.

Sambaa K’e Print Studio contributes a way to represent our homeland while contributing to our definition of a sustainable economy – one that supports the growth for our members. It is one part of a larger project to design a cultural facility for Sambaa K’e. A place to meet, train, pass on traditional knowledge and support our youth, elders and families. As we have said in our mission statement such a facility can only help us in our ambition to, ‘become a self-sufficient and self-governing nation of people on its traditional land within the Dehcho territory. [Our] strength will come from the land, the traditions of the elders, and the education and skills of its community members.

Our land is our place of learning, our bank, our library, our museum, our past and our future. It holds our stories in our place names and trails. We are a part of all the creator has put here. The land is our ‘wealth’ when we respect it as our elders have taught us. This ‘wealth’ relies on carrying on our cultural practices that respect this land and understand our place upon it.

We live from season to season, adjusting to the changes which come with spring, summer, fall and winter. Our life today in Samba K’e is different from our grandfathers and grandmothers. But our stories and prayers keep us connected to all of our ancestors.

Chief Dolphus Jumbo tending to his nets on Trout Lake 6

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Welcome to Sambaa K’e Print Studio Mahsíi joh Sambaa K’e mbehedett’étú t’ah ek’áets’edett’éhe k’é gogháhnda

Carielyn Jumbo Print Studio Manager

Mbehedett’étú t’ah ek’áets’edett’éhe k’é gots’ç k’áodhee

Mahsíi joh Sambaa K’e mbehedett’étú t’ah ek’áets’edett’éhe k’é gogháhnda. Ndahe mbehedetå’étú t’ah ek’áets’edett’éhe k’é tåa kí dene hóóyñ kedøhdîh enidhê esññ gháaagut’e. Gohts’çh mçç hçç enidhê esññ ju dulé dene k’çç kats’eniná, dene yatié, náets’enidhe, k’éots’ená gots’çh thaatõh daguát’î esññ t’áh ndahts’adadendí.

Welcome to the Sambaa K’e Print Studio. Our printmaking facility is open to anyone interested in learning printing techniques and producing art. It’s also for those interested in collaborating with us and our Dene ideas, stories, thoughts, culture and history. This unique facility, operated by Sambaa K’e Dene Band, is located in one of the Northwest Territories most traditional First Nation communities.

Ejô dahsíi ejáot’éh mbehedett’étú t’ah ek’áets’edett’éhe k’é tåa Sambaa K’e got’îî gogha edetå’éh ghálats’enda k’é á gok’égendíh. Nahendeé k’çh sée dene k’çç zõ ndáts’edeh agut’e.

Dene hóóyñ dahsñî k’oni edøhdîh enidê esñî dulé ndahets’ç ndágogehthe gots’çh ndahetah gogháágônetê.

Nidhãã île édé ejô godhônah gots’çh cheleku ke godlîî agejá édé nezû gha. Mçç mbehedett’étú t’ah ek’áets’edett’éhe hégodîhshô íle esñî gots’çh mbekéhlecho esñî dulé ndahetah ágetî.

We would like to encourage all ages from near and far, especially the youth, who are interested in taking part and learning something new to come to our community. Those uninitiated in printmaking as well as professional artists are welcome to both Sambaa K’e Print Studio and Trout Lake.

I would like to thank all who made the Sambaa K’e Print Studio possible, the Sambaa K’e Community members, our elders, our youth, the chief and council.

Edi mbehedett’étú t’ah ek’áets’edettéhe k’é tåa Sambaa K’e got’îî, ndahe ôhndaa, ndahe cheleku ke, etth’íaht’indeé gots’çh yéh déhtth’i ndahets’ágéandíi t’áh gotth’íhts’î á agut’e. Áhcho mahsi gohdusí ndédhê.

Mahsi.

Mahsi.

Carielyn Jumbo and her daughters 8

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Introduction to the Community of Sambaa K’e

The most recent achievement, the 2nd edition of ‘Sambaa K’e: Then and Now’, a community written and self-published history.

Alison dePelham

Now a new journey is being undertaken by the Sambaa K’e people, the incorporation of Dene cultural principles, relations and themes into the design of a community building. In order to explore these themes and relationships, a unique project has developed through the use of an etching press which provides an opportunity to transfer printmaking skills while engaging the community members in a exploration of their reflections of land, culture and relationships. This evolving resource is being used to help design a community cultural centre that speaks to the strengths and beauty that is Sambaa K’e. The journey will be challenging, invigorating and provide opportunities and new modes of expression that we hope can provide another interface between Dene and Canadian culture.

The community of Sambaa K’e is nestled at the shore of a great lake, ever moving and providing a background cadence to the day. The force of the lake is vibrant and vital, setting the tone to daily life and travel of the community. Many journeys have been undertaken upon the land and waters of Sambaa K’e and these journeys continue as the community engages the technology and demands of Canadian society while maintaining Dene culture and practices.

Since settlement in the early sixties, the families of Sambaa K’e have met the challenges of living in a settled hamlet. However, they have responded to the needs of a modern community in northern Canada while still maintaining a strong sense of tradition. Over the years the community has established unique systems of job sharing ensuring that all families benefit from wage employment and access to training and education while emphasizing the need to continue a strong relationship with the land and the abundance that is offered within the lands of Sambaa K’e.

When first encountered, the original community of Sambaa K’e lay just beyond the dunes of the shoreline, the houses were nestled among trees, sand covering most of the area as the pathways between households had worn down the fragile mosses and grasses. The settlement was still young, arrowheads could still be found on the one narrow part of hard ground that served as the community’s airstrip and baseball diamond.

It is not unusual for community members to attend highly technical meetings on land negotiations with officials then step onto snow machines to check traps or fishnets all in the same day. The community members are meeting the daily challenges of finding a balance between the lives their grandparents enjoyed and that of a modern, settled community with the demands of infrastructure and human needs.

The community has taken the initiative, over the years, to build and own the infrastructure that is present today. A remote fishing lodge, a community owned and operated store, guest houses as well as operating all municipal services and infrastructure. Each time the community has developed and molded systems, programs and infrastructure to reflect the unique character of the people, the land and the culture.

The community and its people have many lessons to teach if time is allowed to take in the pace of life that is governed by the land and the seasons. Journeys onto the lake and throughout the lands of Sambaa K’e teach the skills, patience, respect and self-reliance that is needed One of the main lessons that Sambaa K’e teaches so well is the need to encompass all the community’s structures, decisions, programs and work plans within the context of Dene culture.

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Meats and fish hanging for curing and smoking in the traditional method are a common feature of the village scene 11

Sambaa K’e - Photgraphed by Alison on an early visit 12

Sambaa K’e - Photgraphed by Alison on an early visit 13

Development of a Print Studio for Sambaa K’e Gavin Renwick Enthused with the potential of a practical visual language to develop creative dialogues Sambaa K’e invested in the capital equipment and space to establish a long-term facility where printmaking can become an accessible creative tool for the community. The press was built to order by the Takach Press Corporation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Along with the inks, brushes, papers and other materials it was delivered overland to Fort Simpson where it was flown into Sambaa K’e by Wolverine Air on a Britten-Norman Islander. The workshop has been established within the old band office in the Sambaa K’e Gathering Hall. The initial set up, through basic training to a fully working workshop, took just over a week.

In 2010 I began working with Sambaa K’e Dene Band to develop a printmaking facility. We collectively hoped that the studio would act as a creative tool for the community to visually explore aspects of their culture and relationship to the land. In addition, the ambition was that the artwork produced would contribute towards a regional and international dialogue between Sambaa K’e and other communities.

To initiate this project we invited invited printmakers Paul Harrison, of the Visual Research Centre, University of Dundee, and Scott Hudson, of Dundee Contemporary Arts, to develop a series of training workshops based on, and through, the medium and practice of printmaking. The purpose of their initial visit had more than one objective.

The printmakers undertook training that introduced aspects of the printing process through an appropriate traditional Japanese technique called Gyotaku (fish printing). This induction has been incorporated into more mainstream techniques such as relief and intaglio, combining these with contemporary developments such a digital processes, through ongoing training and capacity building. Another aim was to utilise printmaking as a tool that I could utilise within the initial communal design envisioning process for a new cultural facility for the community.

Since the initial establishment of the studio in late Summer 2010, there have been subsequent training visits

by Paul Harrison and Scott Hudson. A link has also been developed with the Department of Printmaking at the University of Alberta. The community workshops have been incredibly successful with many band members and all ages participating. Importantly, Carielyn Jumbo from Sambaa K’e has the interest and skills to now assume a formal responsibility for the running of the studio.

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View across Trout Lake (April 2011) - Photographed by Scott Hudson/Printed by Jim Noble 16

View across Trout Lake (April 2011) - Photographed by Scott Hudson/Printed by Jim Noble 17

Print Making: On the Periphery & Off the Grid Paul Liam Harrison in a visual dialogue through the process of making. This activity was to explore individual ideas and collective ambition for the design of a proposed cultural facility to be constructed at the heart of Sambaa K’e – what should such a structure incorporate and represent? Once initiated, the potential of the print making workshop was quickly recognized and the printing ‘press’ adopted into an integral feature of the proposed building itself - the design of which it had been intended simply to facilitate. The conversation subsequently shifted seamlessly to the development and potential of the permanent Sambaa K’e Print Studio – one that already incorporates both a local integrity and global outlook.

For an artist, the making of something is like a conversation. The physical actions are integral to the cognitive process and the tactile relationship with materials informs our understanding of the world. I expect that these conversations are not confined to artists though, but are more a general characteristic of being human - it feels good to make things!

In an environment such as Sambaa K’e (Trout Lake) however, these conversations can appear more acute. The relationships between making and living are ubiquitous and vital. In such a location - which is pretty much off the grid! - it is necessary to be inventive with available resources and cultivate the ability to respond to the environment. This means being able to recall and apply traditional knowledge and skills whilst also being able to recognize and adapt new technologies and opportunities to current situations. In remote communities, the ability to engage in the physicality of making – to make creative use of the materials at hand are essential skills that can mean the difference between life and death. What more appropriate place then for an artist to be?

So why should a print workshop function so effectively in such an environment and why should the idea be adopted so readily by the community. As a print maker myself I can point confidently to the tradition of printmaking as a creative tool and also as a mechanism for disseminating ideas.

Furthermore I have consistently found it an effective vehicle for inter-disciplinarity and cross cultural collaboration providing a flexible framework for creativity and discussion between cultures and traditions through which people can engage in conversation via their common understanding of creative making. More specifically, it is a practice that is

The Sambaa K’e Print Studio is testimony to such conversation. The initial proposition was for a series of print workshops that could engage all members of the community 18

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both traditional yet contemporary – one that can effectively encompass and combine traditional techniques and materials with new and emerging technologies. As such it is perfectly analogous to Sambaa K’e itself.

On my first visit to the region, and on a particularly poignant venture onto the lake one evening with (Chief) Dolphus Jumbo and my fellow travellers (Gavin and Scott) I became acutely aware of Sambaa K’e as a regional centre as well as a global outpost – not just a quiet backwater but a vigorous meeting place – a dynamic hub, an eco system, where the necessary mechanisms of the ‘global village’ are located and act as a kind of conduit to other, different kinds of centres. Rather than an outpost at the end of the road I saw Sambaa K’e as the ‘inpost’ at the start of many possible routes – one with a principal outlook towards the land – to where people and land and making are connected. I therefore began to consider Sambaa K’e as a bridge – a bridge that reveals those relationships between making and living that might be lost in larger more populated and pedestrian centres.

What better place then for a print studio to emerge than a bridge – what better place for interaction, discussion and creativity – Sambaa K’e Print Studio: a trading post of ideas and conversations!

The journey to Sambaa K’e - with initial equipment and materials 20

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Introductory print workshops at Sambaa K’e Print Studio (above and over)

The first Gyotaku (fish printing) workshop at Sambaa K’e (opposite) 22

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Developing Sambaa K’e Print Sudio’s First Edition, 2011 30

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My favourite object or place

through the medium of print and relay their feelings of the environment and the Sambaa K’e community.

Scott Hudson As a printmaker artist, being invited into a project that allows for travel to a part of the world and work within a community that you would never imagine you would see, can only be described as unique and an incredible experience.

The establishment of the Sambaa k’e Print Studio allows for individuals from different cultures to colaborate and work along side one another. It also provides the opportunity for the language of printmaking to bridge established traditional crafts and techniques with the latest and newest methods and technologies.

Society is now at a stage where individuals have the technology at their disposal to convey a message in an instant across the globe. The development of smart phone technology along with social networking has opened channels of communication that have become so common place in modern society, we can now share our ideas, messages, lives, music, videos and our art to millions across different cultures. The QR code (quick response code) is technology developed from the Japanese motor industry. This decorative black and white mosaic tile is rapidly becoming more apparent in every day literature and media. The code works in conjunction with smart phone technology that utilizes the phones camera, creating an instant link to a designated website when scanned. This method of sharing information is now a popular resource for artists and creative, cultural and educational organisations across the globe.

‘My favourite object or place’ is the name of the first collaborative educational project between Sambaa K’e Print Studio and the pupils of the Sambaa K’e ‘Charles Tetcho’ School. As is the case with almost every community in the western world, the children have at their disposal the technology to social network, upload images, video and music to the internet. Geography does however in this instance provide an obsticle when trying to use the latest smart phone technology, but this project has provided the beginnings of a portal for the pupils to convey artwork

The core element of printmaking is to transfer a mark onto another surface, and to be able to reproduce that mark time and time again. The establishment of the first printing presses opened up how a society could disseminate ideologies, laws, insurgency, descent, technology as well as art and culture. With the use of a matrix, ink, pressure and paper a mark could be produced and reproduced, and this mark could convey a message or statement. This was the origins of printmaking and as the centuries have passed the technologies have changed and developed. Printmaking is and should be inclusive of new methods and now we see how photography, film, digital technologies, mechanization and new materials have contributed to the medium of print, however the principle and the desired result is still the same, to reproduce a basic mark onto another surface.

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The Sambaa K’e Print Studio will use the hosting site ‘talesofthings.com’ for QR code projects. This website is a resource for artists, individuals and organisations to host their responses and tales, either by using text or video memories, for chosen artworks, objects and collections. It was developed for TOTeM, a £1.39m UKRC research project which explores attaching stories and memories to objects.

This project is a collaboration between the Sambaa K’e Print Studio and Simone O’Callaghan, Co-Invetsigator for the TOTeM Labs project at DJCAD.

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The Vision for a Cultural Facility Gavin Renwick of this project is therefore is to collaboratively develop a ‘hybrid’ design solution that is culturally appropriate and environmentally responsible.

Sambaa K’e (Trout Lake) is considered to be one of the most traditional communities in the Canadian Northwest Territories. There are approximately 100 Got’ine (people) living in this Deh Cho community. A strong spirit of selfdetermination coupled with a leadership with vision helps maintain a cultural integrity, sense of identity and an intimate relationship with the land. Hunting and trapping are still mainstays of the economy. The people of Sambaa K’e are still committed to living life according to Dene principles.

This project is part of the development of an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) ratified by Sambaa K’e Dene Band Council for 2010 to 2015. This plan identifies traditional environmental knowledge as a fundamental aspect of a sustainable economy. The multi-functional community facility will also function as a regional hub for promoting cultural continuity and cross- generational training, while recognizing local methods for managing a sustainable landscape. Our ambition is to provide an innovative model regarding how design engages as a mediator between community, environment and knowledge traditions. It follows the Vision of Sambaa K’e Dene Band Council, as quoted in ICSP, from January 14th, 2010:

As stated elsewhere, one purpose of the Printmaking Studio was to utilise printmaking as a tool that I could utilise within the initial communal design envisioning process of a new cultural facility for the community. This project, originating in partnership with the community of Sambaa K’e, involves the design of an experimental cultural facility - a community hearth - that is being designed in collaboration with the people of Sambaa K’e so to sustain and pass on traditional cultural practices, support family life and contribute to a sustainable community. It is hoped that the facility can help pass on indigenous knowledge in a way that has meaning to future generations. The community understands the potential in creating an equitable dialogue between traditional environmental knowledge and contemporary design and technology. The objective

‘The community of Trout Lake has strong educated and independent families that contribute to the traditional and modern lifestyles and vision of the community... Trout Lake ensures core infrastructure, quality programs and services and youth opportunities striving to balance the cultural, social, economic and environmental needs of all our community and residents.’

Drawing visions for the design of the cultural facility 34

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Acknowledgements Sambaa K’e Print Studio would like to acknowledge the following and their role in helping its establishment: Alison de Pelham Band Member and Resource Facilitator Dr Paul Liam Harrison Research Fellow, Visual Research Centre, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee Scott Hudson Printmaker, Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Studio, Dundee Carielyn Jumbo Print Studio Manager Ruby Jumbo Band Manager Chief Dolphus Jumbo and The Sambaa K’e Dene Band Council Dr Gavin T Renwick Professor of Design Studies, Department of Art & Design, University of Alberta Also the Government of Northwest Territories, Sambaa K’e Development Corporation and The community of Sambaa K’e.

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to be continued... www.sambaakeprintstudio.com

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