Indigenous

Over 100 Indigenous artists raise $60,000 for Palestinians

Initially she'd hoped to raise $20,000 to support people on the ground in Gaza but Quill Christie Peters's Turtle Island Indigenous Artists for Palestine collected $60,000 in donations.

Funds will support aid, 3D printed medical supplies and youth, says organizer

A woman at a protest holds a sign in her right hand while her left arm is draped over another woman.
Quill Christie-Peters, left, organized the Turtle Island Indigenous Artists for Palestine fundraiser which raised $60,000. (Quill Christie-Peters/Instagram)

Quill Christie-Peters said she hoped the Turtle Island Indigenous Artists for Palestine art raffle fundraiser she organized would raise $20,000, and in the first hour $15,000 was raised.

Christie-Peters is an Anishinaabe artist from Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation on Lake Superior and one of many Indigenous artists and activists supporting Palestinians.

"I put the call out for only 24 hours for Indigenous artists to donate their work and got over 100 people wanting to do so," she said.

In total, Turtle Island Indigenous Artists for Palestine raised $60,000 to put toward aid for people in Gaza.

Of the money, $25,000 is going to Glia International, a medical equipment company that is 3D printing medical supplies for Gaza, $2,500 to the Palestinian Youth Movement in Canada and funds were donated to community-led aid efforts, Christie-Peters said.

Woodland Art, owl w 2 people.
A Spiritual Place by Jared Tait, one of the pieces donated to the Turtle Island Indigenous Artists for Palestine fundraiser. (Jared Tait/Instagram)

"It's important to witness and carry those realities in our hearts and funnel them so that we can take action and have the courage," Christie-Peters said.

She said support for Israel shown by Canada and the United States is demonstrative of "how much our struggles are intertwined."

"We made a difference and also made a really bold statement, too…'This is how much we care,'" said Christie-Peters.

"You know, our people often don't come from the richest of people, but we are generous."

A 'misconstrual of history'

Chris Sankey, a former elected band councillor and businessman from Lax Kw'alaams Band in British Columbia, recently wrote he doesn't think it's "our place to project our own politics onto a conflict half a world away."

In a column for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a national public policy think tank, Sankey wrote that calls to action by Indigenous people in support of Palestinians brought "shame to their respective communities and embarrassed all Indigenous Canadians" by undermining the progress made toward reconciliation.  

He wrote that any comparison between Indigenous people in Canada and Palestinians is a "misconstrual of history."

Inspired by Palestinian artist

Autumn Smith, an Anishnaabe artist, said she read about the death of artist Heba Zagout and two of her children in an Israeli air strike on Gaza on Oct. 13. Zagout's husband and two other children survived.

Wall in Gaza
Jerusalem by Heba Zagout. Zagout was known for her vibrant acrylic paintings of Palestinian villages and towns. (Heba Zagout/Instagram)

Smith, from Magnetawan First Nation just south of Sudbury, Ont., said Zagout's art resonated with her, half a world away. 

Although she was not part of the Turtle Island Indigenous Artists for Palestine fundraiser, Smith said she wanted to express her support for Palestinians and was inspired by Zagout's artwork.

"I recognized that love for the land she came from and for her people, and I felt really sad," Smith said.

Zagout was known for her vibrant acrylic paintings of Palestinian villages and towns.

"All people deserve to be free," Smith said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Candace Maracle is Wolf Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. She is a laureate of The Hnatyshyn Foundation REVEAL Indigenous Art Award. Her latest film, a micro short, Lyed Corn with Ash (Wa’kenenhstóhare’) is completely in the Kanien’kéha language.