Gallery: Thunder Bay : The willow shows what has happened to murdered Indigenous youth in Thunder Bay
These three images were made with one willow tree that grows next to a walking path by a bridge over the river running through Thunder Bay. On my first visit I was teaching my hostess about Tree Conversations so two of us were sitting together with the tree. There were many native people walking along this path and they all noticed what we were doing and showed an interest, asking us questions. I have sat in many public places working with trees and I am rarely approached or acknowledged.
The bottom right image is from this first meeting with the tree. I felt it showed me that it is like an all seeing “eye” witnessing everything. It has aspects of a medicine wheel but is free of all old forms.
The drawing below on the left is what the tree showed me when I came back to Thunder Bay after hearing of indigenous youth found dead in the river. The tree asked me to sit with it in order to show me what it had witnessed in regards to these tragedies.
The drawing below on the right is the tree responding to me a week later when I asked for guidance as to how to support healing and move forward.
I have been led to a remarkable woman, Cindi Crowe who has responded to this and created a three day event September 21-24 2016 called Tree Speak where the trees will be asked for guidance and there will be ceremony and healing around the deaths of these indigenous youth.
