Gas Imaginary Conversations No. 2 — with Tania Willard & Kanahus Manuel

• Main Authors: Tania Willard, Kanahus Manuel, Rachel O’Reilly, Am Johal, Fiorella Pinillos, Melissa Roach, Paige Smith, Kathy Feng, Alex Abahmed
• Format: Audio
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Canada; Indian; First Nations
• Online Access: http://summit.sfu.ca/item/21137

Tania Willard, Secwepemc Nation, works as an artist and curator within the shifting ideas of contemporary and traditional as it relates to cultural arts and production. She often engages bodies of knowledge and skills that are conceptually linked to her interest in intersections between Aboriginal and other cultures. Her curatorial work includes Beat Nation: Art Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture (http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/exhibit_beat_nation.html), a national touring exhibition first presented at Vancouver Art Gallery in 2011 as well as residencies at grunt gallery and Kamloops Art Gallery. She is currently assistant professor in Creative Studies at University of British Columbia Okanagan (Kelowna BC). She also founded and operates BUSH gallery, a conceptual space for land-based art and action led by Indigenous artists. Kanahus Manuel belongs to the Secwepemc Nation and founded the Tiny House Warrior movement as part of her ongoing work as an Indigenous water and land defender. She is also a member of the Secwepemc Women’s Warrior Society. Her family has led the struggle for rights and sovereignty in Secwepemcul’ecw (territory of the Secwepemc people) for generations. Her late father Arthur Manuel, a former Secwepemc chief and residential school survivor, was an author and global champion for Indigenous rights and title in Canada and abroad. Her late grandfather George Manuel was the second president of the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations) and founding president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples.