Artifactuality, season 2, episode 9.
Kim Thuy (Narration) [00:00:02] On this episode of Artifactuality, how one portrait reveals the power and history of gender diversity in Indigenous cultures. My name is Kim Thuy. On this podcast from the Canadian Museum of History, together we explore what objects and stories from the past can tell us about who we are today. What will resonate tomorrow? How will the events unfolding around us be remembered in the future? The term “Two-Spirit” refers to the wide range of gender and sexual identities that exist in many Indigenous cultures. The phrase was coined in 1990 in Manitoba. It was at the third annual North American Native Gay and Lesbian Gathering. But the existence of the Two-Spirit identity has been around since time immemorial. Before North America was colonized, many nations recognized a range of genders and sexualities. In many cases, Two-Spirit individuals were revered and considered gifted. They were healers and caretakers, had relationships, raised children, and participated as valued members of their communities. But colonization changed that. European settlers had much more rigid views of gender. Kristine McCorkell is the Curator of Indigenous Art at the Canadian Museum of History. They identify as Two-Spirit and are a member of the Mohawk First Nation from Six Nations of the Grand River.
Kristine McCorkell [00:01:53] Most of our communities understood gender and sexual diversity very differently. We didn’t have gender, at least in my language. That was something that came after colonization and unfortunately, the very process of residential schools. That was – and the church – was one of the big erasures of queer, Two-Spirit Indigenous identities. They were really trying to mold us to fit into society. And one of the first things they noticed upon arriving here was that we didn’t fit into those binaries. So what happened during colonization is a lot of our ceremonies also got gendered, which means man can do this and women can do this. But what happens if you’re in-between or you don’t identify as others? It was my experience that I often was left out of ceremonies or made to sit near an entrance. Some of our ceremonies have turned into what I refer to as almost “church like” – there’s a male and a female side, and a lot of those elders who have survived things like residential school did not speak about their gender and sexual identity because, I mean, for various reasons, it was forced out of them by the church and they were scared to admit those things. Right? And I really only started to come out in the 90’s. If the people before me had not done this work, right, I wouldn’t be sitting here in 2024.
Kim Thuy (Narration) [00:03:21] Charlotte Nolin struggled to express her gender identity for years. She’s a Metis Elder and was born in Winnipeg in 1950. Charlotte felt an immediate connection when she first learned the term Two-Spirit. She was assigned a male identity at birth, but by the age of six, Charlotte knew that she wasn’t a boy.
Charlotte Nolin [00:03:45] Back then, Canada was a very racist, homophobic and transphobic country. I remember this couple of old ladies who lived down the road from us on a farm, and everybody would refer to them as “les vieilles filles.” Like they knew that they were lesbians, but they didn’t speak it, you know, like they were just two old gals living together.
Kim Thuy (Narration) [00:04:10] Charlotte is a survivor of the Sixities Scoop, a time when child welfare authorities took thousands of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children from their homes without their parent’s consent and placed them in non-Indigenous households. She was only six months old when she was taken from her family. Charlotte grew up as a ward in the child welfare system, moving between foster homes and experiencing physical and emotional abuse. When she was 17, Charlotte allowed herself to publicly embrace her gender for the first time. But at the age of 23, she went back into the closet, fearing for her safety.
Charlotte Nolin [00:04:58] 50 years ago, I was not allowed to walk out in public during the day because I would be met with violence. And so myself and most of my sisters, we came out at night when it was dark so that, you know, we wouldn’t meet so much violence. And there was still violence attached to it.
Kim Thuy (Narration) [00:05:18] Charlotte has survived homelessness and drug and alcohol addiction. Today, at 73, she is a grandmother, sweat lodge keeper, knowledge keeper, sun dancer and pipe carrier.
Charlotte Nolin [00:05:32] I was given this vision many years ago when I first fasted that I had to lead our people. And I had told my brother this back in 1995 when we were working together in Vancouver, I said I had this dream, and in the dream they explained to me that I needed to lead our people. And that’s what I’ve been doing since, is lead in our people.
Kim Thuy (Narration) [00:06:02] JD Hawk came to know Charlotte at meetings held by the Manitoba Metis Federation. JD is a nationally recognized Red River Metis artist.
JD Hawk [00:06:13] I’ve observed Charlotte voice her opinions or concerns for many people, and every time she has stood up and said something, whether it’s a comment or question or an answer, there was nothing but – I had nothing but respect for her and I had to meet her. So one day I just went up to her and said, “Hi, Charlotte, I’m JD Hawk. Can I paint you?” [laughter]
Kim Thuy [00:06:36] It was straight out like this!
JD Hawk [00:06:39] Almost. Almost. I just had to meet her just based on what I observed. I respected her, and I just had to meet somebody I respected.
Kim Thuy [00:06:49] JD wanted to include Charlotte in a personal art project featuring current Red River Metis citizens.
JD Hawk [00:06:57] Many artists in our community and outside the community paint Louis Riel, you know, the founding father of Manitoba, who was the mighty leader. And I felt that there’s this huge gap in Metis history. Once he was tried for treason and put to death, the many people scattered and all the stories, not all of them, but a lot of them got lost in our families. And to me, that’s such a shame because it shows a lot of Canadian culture. It shows the Metis culture and the Metis culture is derived of both European and First Nations. So there’s a lot of it that was missing, the history and the stories of our people, not just from our leaders, but from our citizens. And so that’s what inspired me to work on this collection, I want to tell our stories, our family’s stories. And I have this gift that I can do it. So this was the start of this whole project.
Kim Thuy (Narration) [00:07:50] JD’s portrait of Charlotte is titled “Stands Strong Eagle Woman. A Two-Spirit Grandmother”.This almost life-sized portrayal is presented at an angle, so the viewer is looking up at Charlotte. This was to illustrate Charlotte’s leadership role in her community. Her chin is held high. Her twinkling eyes look off into the distance and her gray hair flows down to her chest. Her tattooed arms gently cradle an eagle feather fan – a sacred ceremonial gift. Charlotte also has a subtle smile.
JD Hawk [00:08:29] I call it my Mona Lisa painting, just because it’s just a slight smile, just showing off the energy. The broad shoulders shows a strong, strong person. Very approachable. With the lights and shadows that I used on her face, the strong working hands that she’s had all her life. And the delicateness of her personality just with the eagle feather fan. One of the things that I really admire and respect about Charlotte is after I learned more of her story, when Charlotte was growing up as a boy with the darker skin and the First Nations look, she was targeted, you know? The homelessness, the residential schools, nothing but negativity. Then when Charlotte transitioned into female, she had all that other stuff against her. And now the fact that people are scared that she’s a female, it’s like more hatred. And among all that hate kicking in the gut, the face type stuff, she still loves people. Like, that is so incredible. And I want people to know that this is a human being that loves people no matter how many times she’s beaten down. So that was really important to me to show that Mona Lisa smile on her face, that she loves people.
Charlotte Nolin [00:09:49] I was astounded that he would consider me for a portrait. Nobody’s ever asked to do a painting of me. And I was honored. And the portrait captured my true essence. And that’s what people across this country have said. Because not only am I a sweat lodge keeper and a pipe carrier, I’m a sun dance chief. And in that role, I lead my people in ceremony. And last year, we held the first Two-Spirit sun dance on Turtle Island, and we had about 400 people that attended. To describe it in words… that’s just too difficult. The feeling of hope, the feeling of respect, the feeling of acceptance, it just overwhelmed us for four days. And this painting caught that.
Kim Thuy (Narration) [00:10:54] Curator Kristine McCorkell says Charlotte has been instrumental in including trans, queer and gender fluid Indigenous people in traditional ceremonies. Charlotte also creates safe spaces at the University of Manitoba in her work as an Indigenous cultural specialist.
Kristine McCorkell [00:11:14] There are some people who are very gatekeep-y about who can run what ceremony and who can’t, and who belongs where and who doesn’t. Right? And how you somehow achieve the status of Elder . And through all the power of Charlotte in herself, just started doing that and started bridging that gap, and even though she has been denied by people for the ability to do this, continues to do that work. I’m sure it has an emotional toll, but it shows us that these people existed prior to contact. Something happened during colonization in which we weren’t allowed to talk about these things, but Charlotte took these teachings and started giving them back to the youth, right, started inviting these queer people who maybe did not have a safe ceremonial space to go to, to allow them to do that. And she holds space for them. And she continues to do that work through university as well. I think that’s one of the big things, these students who are trying to connect with their identity but also get an education. There’s kind of this weird two fold where sometimes we’re in an institution, but we don’t feel like we belong.
Charlotte Nolin [00:12:32] You know, when I think back at my life, and how I was so small growing up because society made me small. And then one day I emerged just like a butterfly emerges from a cocoon. And I spread my wings and I said, “This is who I am.” You know, it reminds me of that song, “I am woman, Hear me roar.” And so that’s, I guess, a bit of what I want to let human beings know is that I’m here. I’ve always been here and I’ll always be here. We’re part of humanity and we have gifts that we want to share with humanity.
Kim Thuy [00:13:21] What is it like to be Two-Spirit in the Metis community today?
Charlotte Nolin [00:13:27] I think I’m opening doors. Educating our young people that it’s okay to be 2SLGBTQQIA and I’m helping people understand that. We’re no different than they are. We’re human beings, first and foremost. And being Two-Spirit that we have gifts that we want to share with the world in our ceremonies. Because we weren’t always made welcome at other ceremonies because of the churches. When they came over and they colonized, our people were spreading the word. And then people know that, you know, we’re no different than you are. You know, we’re part of your families. We’re your sons, your daughters, you know.
JD Hawk [00:14:20] The painting leaving the homeland into Ottawa is huge. Not from just being the artist or from Charlotte’s standpoint, but for our Metis culture because it tells so many different stories. It’ll tell my story, it’ll definitely tell Charlotte’s story, and then it’ll bring it back to who the Metis are. It brings it back to the homeland.
Kim Thuy [00:14:43] Kristin McCorkell remembers their visits to museums as a child. Back then, seeing a portrait of someone like Charlotte would have been very meaningful for them.
Kristine McCorkell [00:14:53] I grew up in Wakefield, Quebec, which is not that far from Ottawa, but all of our school trips would be to the national museums, right? And not once did I see myself represented in there. Its often either a dying race, like, this is what women used to do, or it’s very trauma heavy. Women used to dress like this in the past and will have, you know, a full regalia set. There’s no personal story that’s being told. You don’t get to see why those things that may be beaded on the regalia are important. And then I couldn’t put the pieces together as an 8 year old. And then I go back to school and it’s like, well, what did you learn? And we’re sitting there making teepees and popsicle stick long houses, right? It was very much this feeling of we’re not supposed to exist, this race has died. This is like what we used to make up. It felt very much like we were revisiting like ancient cultures of Greek and Roman eras. Right. When I know that not to be true, but as an 8 year old, I couldn’t figure it out.
Kim Thuy [00:16:02] What do you think it would have meant to you if you had seen this portrait in a national museum when you were a student?
Kristine McCorkell [00:16:10] Like, if I saw this as a young person when I was trying to figure out my own identity as a teenager, it would have answered a lot of questions. It would have pointed me in a direction of, like, we do belong. We are allowed to be here. We are allowed to participate in ceremony and hold eagle feathers and operate in that way. It would be a radical shift for someone who’s really questioning their identity to walk in and see that representation because we don’t see it in our everyday life. We have to seek out our own community as queer, Indigenous people, Two-Spirit, Indigi-queer, however we identify, we know that we don’t necessarily fit in with all our communities right now, and we seek each other out in these contemporary spaces. And having Charlotte as a representation, but also know that she’s one of those people that you can seek out, right, and is willing to share that knowledge with you is something that can’t be replaced. And I don’t think there are words that can necessarily say how impactful it will be for someone young in this country questioning their identity, whether they’re Indigenous or not. It’s very tumultuous. We have a lot of grown-ups telling us right now what we should and should not do with our body. And then you see Charlotte, who’s just living her best life in her 70’s, right? And there’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Kim Thuy [00:17:37] How do you hope people will relate to this powerful image?
Kristine McCorkell [00:17:42] In this one in particular? Charlotte’s calling us into the painting and asking us to reflect on some of those taboos that have been ingrained in us. It’s still very hard to talk about sexuality and sexual identity in museum spaces. And although we are more accepting of people who are gender diverse and sexually diverse, it’s almost like we’re accepting when it happens behind closed doors, right? As long as we don’t interact with it in our everyday life, it’s – for the general public, sometimes it’s not an issue, but for those of us like me growing up, museums stayed away from it for a very long time and I didn’t see myself represented in those spaces.
Kim Thuy [00:18:33] Charlotte, we know that you appreciate JD’s work, but it would be lovely to hear you tell JD directly what you think of this portrait.
Charlotte Nolin [00:18:44] JD, I want to thank you so much for doing this. I never imagined anything like this in my life and my kids, my grandkids, those that come after that. Well, thank you, you know, for capturing that essence and bringing it out to the rest of the people. Thank you.
JD Hawk [00:19:14] Well, Charlotte, as you know, before I even did this portrait of you, I respected you already. This was just my way of showing you, your family and our Metis families, our Metis citizens, how much I respect our culture, our people. And you, being an Elder, deserve a lot of respect. So I thank you so much for allowing me to paint your portrait. First and foremost, I really do appreciate that it turned out to be something bigger than both of us imagined. And it is such an honor to be part of your family now. Once again, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.
Kim Thuy [00:20:07] JD’s portrait of Charlotte is now part of the collection at the Canadian Museum of History. Kristine is working to acquire more art produced by and focused on the Two-Spirit LGBTQIA+ Indigenous community. Thank you to Charlotte Nolin, a Two-Spirit Metis Elder, and artist JD Hawk for speaking with me. Thanks also to Kristine McCorkell, the Curator of Indigenous Art at the Canadian Museum of History.
[00:20:38] Thanks for listening to Artifactuality, a podcast from the Canadian Museum of History. I’m Kim Thuy. Artifactuality is produced by Antica Productions. Ann Lang is our producer. Soobin Kim is the researcher. Laura Regehr and Stuart Coxe are Executive Producers at Antica. Mixing and sound design by Alain Derbez. Jenny Ellison, Robyn Jeffrey and Steve McCullough of the Canadian Museum of History are the executive producers of this podcast. Check out historymuseum.ca for more stories, articles and exhibitions from the museum. For more information about JD Hawk’s portrait of Charlotte Nolin, check out the links in our show notes.