Art Activism class shines light on over incarceration of Indigenous people
Statistics released by the Office of the Correctional Investigator last December were sobering for those concerned with the over incarceration of Indigenous people.
Almost 50 per cent of all federally-sentenced women are Indigenous and the combined men and women proportion has now reached 32 per cent and appears to be climbing.
The data also revealed that those numbers have jumped in the last 10 years, with Indigenous inmate population increasing by 28.26 per cent, while non-Indigenous has actually decreased 18.1 per cent. The numbers are staggering, especially because the Indigenous population of Canada is only around five per cent.
It’s in that spirit that Abbotsford Senior Secondary School art teacher Nikita Griffioen and her students have decided to shine a light on this issue. She told The News that after last year’s successful examination into racism she was approached by UBC’s Art Justice class led by Kelsey Timler and Dr. Helen Brown to collaborate on the topic of the over incarceration of Indigenous peoples.
Griffioen also worked alongside Corrections Canada and Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village on the project.
“My students worked hard to educate themselves on this topic and create large-scale artworks on the themes,” she said, noting that they researched topics such as Canada’s prison system, residential schools, the justice system and more. “The students of both UBC and ASSS hope that in raising awareness for this topic we can work towards Truth and Reconciliation for Indigenous peoples by educating the general public and encouraging discussion. I am immensely proud of my students and their hard work.”
The students’ works will run at The Reach gallery until June 22.