“My art is a way to give back to community and to support those on their healing journeys.”
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This story contains references to Residential Schools, which may be distressing for some readers.
As an Indigenous artist, Brooklyn Rudolph wears her heart on her sleeve. But this year, she’ll wear it on the front of an orange t-shirt, one she designed to honour survivors and all those affected by Residential Schools.
Rudolph, a member of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba, was the selected artist to collaborate with Walmart Canada through Indigenous Proud’s annual design contest this year.
“My art is a way to give back to community and to support those on their healing journeys,” Rudolph says, who holds a Certificate in Indigenous Environmental Leadership from Royal Roads University.
“I want to help people heal. I want to help people grow,” she says. “I want to be there to support people through my art. You could call me an artivist.”
Always share love
Inspired by her grandparents, Rudolph’s design has deep personal meaning and is embedded with traditional teachings. It depicts two children holding hands, representing all children who attended Residential School, including her grandparents who went to Guy Hill Residential School in The Pas, Manitoba.
The going home star, known as Keewatin in Cree, shines above, leading the children home, she says. An eagle soars above them. It represents love in the Seven Teachings, Rudolph explains, which are a set of guiding principles of how we treat one another.
“Something my grandpa told our family was to always share love, so I really wanted to include [an eagle],” she says.
“I want people to know that this painting comes from a descendant of Residential School survivors and when you purchase a shirt like this or support this campaign, you are supporting the healing of survivors and families across the country.”
One hundred per cent of profits from the shirts sold in 400 stores across Canada will go to benefit the Orange Shirt Society and Indian Residential School Survivors Society.
Reclaiming her roots
Although Indigenous art is now central to Rudolph’s identity, it wasn’t always. At 17, inspired by a high school art teacher, she began painting as a way to reclaim her cultural roots.
“I felt very disconnected from my own culture and identity growing up,” Rudolph says. “I didn’t even know my Indigenous ancestry. I didn’t know anything about that,” she says.
The Residential School system in Canada operated from the 1880s with the last school closing in 1996. The government-sponsored religious schools were designed to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian society. Reports, including this one from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, collect survivor stories including physical and psychological abuse. Survivors describe how they were not allowed to speak their Indigenous languages – the only language many of them knew – or to continue their traditional cultural and spiritual practices.
The report states that Residential Schools disrupted the passing down of cultural and spiritual practices and values, which had traditionally been shared from one generation to the next.
It wasn’t until she was a teenager that Rudolph learned about her grandparents’ story – around the same time she was introduced to Indigenous art.
“It was from there on that I felt a close connection to my Indigenous culture,” she says.
Through her art and the healing it brought to her own journey, Rudolph found inspiration to support others through difficult times while offering connection to Indigenous culture.
In 2022, she received the Empower Women Award from the Manitoba government for her significant contributions in advancing gender equality and reconciliation as much of her Indigenous artwork is gifted to non-profit organizations such as shelters, mental-health organizations and women’s centres.
“I hope that I’m able to make a positive impact within my own community and many different communities across the country,” she says.
“I want to support all living things”
Although Rudolph works full-time as an artist, her passion for helping others extends well beyond her art.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve always wanted to support all living things,” Rudolph says, who also currently works with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority as an outreach worker. The five-time graduate, with credentials that include a high school diploma as well as diplomas in medical assistance, health care, and veterinary assistance, hopes to soon make it six. She’s currently applying to RRU’s Bachelor of Science in Environmental Practice program.
“I really want to focus on supporting Indigenous communities in northern parts of the country,” she says. “I really want to focus on creating a positive impact on wildfires for futures to come.”
She credits her time at RRU with instilling in her the confidence to use her voice – and her art – to speak up.
“[My instructors] helped me see that I was capable of being a leader and they shaped me into the leader I am today,” she says.
“I learned so much about how to care for the environment through an Indigenous lens and they taught me so much about leadership, they empowered me to use my voice to speak up, to use my creativity to support others and I’m so grateful.”
Learn more about the Certificate in Indigenous Environmental Leadership and the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Practice.
Find resources, voices and events in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.