Responsibility
When we were laid down in the lore of the land I live on in Australia, our uncle told us "the first law above everything else,
and you can forget the rest if you can't follow this one, is respect your mother."
This is more than your birth mother but Mother Earth as well. Lore is law.
If you break them, there can be consequence.
Lore in practise...
I would first like to acknowledge that there is often a large gap between our indigenous values and daily lived experience. While we can carry deep values for care and reciprocity with nature, it is not always possible within The Matrix. Often we are forced to make decisions from our entanglement with the dominant society, where survival can eclipse our beliefs.
My personal practise I encourage, is to be honest with ourselves, recognise what those gaps are, and try our best to close them. Starting with what we put in water, earth, air and our bodies, so together we can truly walk a natural & original way of life.
How to survive in a capitalist society while still maintaining indigenous values and ways of life?
This question has led me to work with biodegradable & non-toxic materials. My fans for one example, are created with naturally tanned deer leather, glass beads, bee-waxed cotton thread, bamboo rods, air-dry clay and my packaging (except ones required by postal authorities) consist of up-cycled cardboard, 100% compostable corn based bubble wrap & tape, all of which can decompose in your compost/garden within a few months. (Our partner zerowaste.co.com.au has a reforestation program supported by our purchases).
The same goes for any physical/vinyl production of music, I don't use shrink wrap, single-use plastic and press recycled-vinyl, with plants that work with FSC certified printing houses & other sustainable practises.
Where possible, I approach life through a decolonised lens for reciprocity & harmony with nature, collecting feather offcuts and offering them, along with hair, to the forests, so birds can use the materials to build their nests. Traditional practise & belief inform every aspect of my art.
The feathers I collect (I can't speak for feathers provided/traded) are naturally moulted, this can take months/years to complete full sets and requires renewing difficult licenses and maintaining relationships with conservation initiatives/aviaries. What I pay for feathers goes towards the costs of wildlife rehabilitation or the supplies for the upkeep of these beautiful birds.
Outside of sacred hunts and sustenance, I do not support the killing of birds for sport or financial gain. However, my ethos is purposed to inspire, I hold no judgement toward individuals responding to larger structural conditions that may limit options in disadvantaged communities. I recognise in this time, living in right relationship with life is not equally accessible, but shaped by structures of class and privilege.
But there is much hope and promise,
Like a single raindrop on the face of water,
Praying this word creates small ripples within your heart,
Moving your great waves, your grand changes,
For even the tiniest ripple is sent in every direction,
reaching the edge of our container...
have you studied what happens next?
the waves rush back inside us.
this is why everything affects you,
and why you hold capacity to change the world.
