Visions of Restitution: Ashley Grenstone, Tiana Vincent, and Daystar Woman

Three artists from distinct nations come together, their calls for restitution taking shape through image, dream, and language. Ashley Greenstone, Tiana Vincent, and Daystar Woman were selected as the finalists for the Solidarity Art Space design contest, a fundraising initiative for Gidimt’en. This opportunity brought their individual practices together for the first time, gathering artistic and ancestral voices across vast expanses of land and echoing calls for restitution and resurgence. The collection of their diverse artistic approaches mirrors their shared conception of an ecosystems approach to building better worlds: we must honour and uphold a natural order of complexity, wherein we belong to the land and the collective whole.

About the Artists

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Ashley Grenstone

Born and currently living on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation ‘Odawa’ (colonially referred to as Ottawa) Ashley Grenstone was raised in several territories across Turtle Island, and is herself a mix of colonizer, Bonnechere Algonquin First Nation and Mi’kmaq.

Though raised apart from her indigenous roots she is reclaiming them piece by piece, learning when to step up and when to step aside for others’ voices to lead the way.

A human rights advocate Ashley strives for 2-Spirit representation; gender and sexuality rights; and ending the exploitation of children.

Ashley Grenstone is a professional visual artist with education from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and self taught through experimentation in various fine arts forms, mediums and styles.

For 10+ years Ashley has worked with a diverse portfolio of clients from the three coasts of ‘Canada’, creating vibrant, engaging visuals for the leaders of tomorrow.

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Tiana Vincent

I’m a Huron-Wendat (Wendake) and Vietnamese artist from Treaty 1. I moved to Vancouver to attend UBC and graduated in 2020. Since graduation, even as a child growing up, my hands crave to create. I’ve spent most of my life doodling and drawing, the occasional painting here and there. Recently my hands have stumbled onto graphic illustrations.

Subject matter compels me most. Whatever you draw, I find that you have the power to give the drawing a sort of soul, a type of life. You give its story, and you get to tell it too. I’m surrounded by various creative influences— from the Metis, the Anishinaabe, my own background of Wendat and Apache-Sioux, southeastern Asian cultures, and the Coast Salish nations that envelope me here. Currently, my work comes from the voices of my ancestors, their whispers from the past, in times of my own reconciliation.

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Kisikawacahkos iskwew 

daystar woman

tansi. hello. i come from treaty 6 territory. beaver mountain house ( edmonton ab) . my great mosom on my moms side was chief ermineskin of maskwacis ( hobbema). on my dads side, we are metis of lac ste anne. my ancestors were fur traders, hide tanners, trappers, beaders and medicine people.

moved to lekwungen territory ( victoria bc) in 2013. in search of healing by these great waters. the ancestors of these lands and waters have been really caring and loving in allowing me to be in their home lands. forever grateful for being a welcomed guest in these otherworldly spaces.

one of my cuzzins guided me a bit in drawing when i was kid. he would give me his old art supplies when he bought new gear. made me feel so special. rip todd. over the years i picked up oil painting. self-taught oil painter. painting is a visual language that has helped me reclaim myself and the nehiyawewin ( cree language). it helps me express my deep love for the land and natural law. and an understanding of where i come from. it is a life long journey of commitment to myself, community, friends, family and strong indigenous rights. all my relations. hiy hiy.

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