Painting Our Legacy
Painting Our Legacy
Hi, my name is Raven Elwell Stephens from the Butterfly Clan, and I am a Mi’kmaq artist from Millbrook First Nation. I’ve always been passionate about art, and as I started exploring the beauty and creative potential of makeup, I discovered my personal form of artistic expression. Throughout this book, there will be cultural teachings important to Indigenous people. In my work, I have taken inspiration from my Mi’kmaq cultural identity as well as other Indigenous cultures. This book aims to show the beauty and versatility of Indigenous cultures and to share these cultures with others.
My positionality as a reviewer is a white settler, living on the traditional, unceded Treaty 7 territory of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Nakoda (Stoney), and Tsuut'ina. Books like Painting Our Legacy are beautiful learning opportunities for me to continue learning about Indigenous culture through art and stories. It is a gift to have access to this learning.
Painting Our Legacy is a combination of makeup artistry and story communication. The book is split into four categories of Indigenous culture represented through texts and makeup looks: Indigenous Medicines and Teachings, The Seven Sacred Teachings, Indigenous Legends & Mythology, and Indigenous Symbols & Petroglyphs. Each two-page spread includes a makeup look on the lefthand side, and a description and teaching of Indigenous culture on the right. The makeup artistry ranges from beautifully simple--such as a red lip paired with unique red eyeliner to explain the sacred nature of the colour red--to looks that literally transcend the artist’s face, like the look created to teach about the eagle that includes wings attached to Raven Elwell Stephens’ face to show a full wingspan. The text is straightforward and easy to read and contains multitudes of learning opportunities about Indigenous culture. I was particularly enthralled by the Indigenous Legends & Mythology section, learning about Glooscap, Lumaajuuq, the raven, and the first moose while seeing the stories represented through makeup. The visual landscape created through both story and makeup is special.
The makeup looks are varied and intriguing, and, as someone who has only dabbled in blending, contouring, and shading myself, I can say with great confidence that these looks exemplify the true art that is possible using makeup. Painting Our Legacy is not a guidebook for how to create the looks, but readers who are interested in different aspects of makeup will enjoy looking through the pages and admiring the different subtleties of each new page. The end of the book includes resource pages for Indigenous created makeup brands, the beaders who created the beadwork for the looks (the beading in this book is stunning!), and sources for some of the teachings in the text.
Painting Our Legacy is a fantastic book, and a delight to read and admire.
Lindsey Baird is a high school English teacher and member of the Rocky Mountain Book Award selection committee on Treaty 7 territory in Southern Alberta.