Skawennati

Skawennati is an artist born in Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory, and a member of the Turtle Clan. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University, Montreal, where she currently lives. Part of Skawennati’s childhood was spent in Kahnawà:ke, in the house of her great-grandmother, who spoke to her in Kanien’kéha, the Mohawk language. When her great-grandmother passed away, Skawennati moved to Châteauguay, Quebec, a small town not far from Kahnawà:ke.

When she was young, Skawennati was constantly drawing. It was her way of keeping busy. In her late teens, she didn’t think of the arts as a “real job,” but she knew she wanted to be creative. So she enrolled at Concordia University to study art and design. Art school gave Skawennati the opportunity to explore her more experimental side by playing with images and objects.

Skawennati believes that if we want to take joy in our work, we have to follow our hearts and let opportunities come to us. Above all, we should never be afraid to try new things, or worried about not making enough money: what matters is finding a way to make our work satisfying and fulfilling.

Skawennati says that, for a long time, the effects of colonialism prevented her from embracing her Mohawk culture. In a colonial context, it comes as no surprise that Indigenous people may not know their history or how to speak the language of their ancestors. But she wants to be clear that this loss doesn’t make people any less Indigenous. Thankfully, it is not too late to renew and revitalize Indigenous cultures.

Skawennati shares the story of the Peacemaker, a historical figure who united the five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Though these five nations were at war, they shared similar stories and languages. The Peacemaker’s idea was to enforce a consensus: each nation had to treat the others as equals, as a family. For Skawennati, this story is not ancient history: it’s a vital lesson that applies to everyday life today.

Inspired by what she had learned in art school and by her own culture, Skawennati started to make short films in a medium called “machinima” that uses computer graphics in a way similar to video games. Her 2017 science fiction machinima, The Peacemaker Returns, reimagines the Peacemaker story in a future setting that incorporates elements of our present. In this uncertain future, our awareness of our past means embracing the miracle of still being here today.

No matter what medium Skawennati is working in—image, film, textile, sculpture—her work is always highly accessible to children and youth. She makes it a priority to encourage Indigenous youth to be proud of their heritage. And she is confident that, by incorporating these values into her artwork, she can help create a sense of empowerment.

Art lovers around the world have been exposed to Skawennati’s work exploring history, the future, and change from the perspective of an urban Mohawk woman and cyberpunk avatar. She has received an honorary doctorate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, is a member of the Guild of Future Architects, and is a founding member of daphne, an Indigenous artist-run centre in Montreal. She also co-directs Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace, a research-creation network based at Concordia University.