The Learning to Listen project logo was designed and created by Elijah Buffalo, a Cree and Norse-descended artist, athlete, scientist, parent, podcaster, and student who met Kikila at UVic in 2022. You can check out Elijah’s artwork and podcasts at his website Experemony. The word Experemony comes from the combination of Experiment & Ceremony and, in many ways, expresses Eli’s understanding and approach to his science (as a future medical researcher and doctor), in weaving in the protocols, traditions, and powers of observation that come from his Cree heritage to decolonize medicine as it is being practices on Turtle Island, and in Indigenous communities.
The logo itself is weaving of a few things. The image is of SX̱EDJELI (SENĆOŦEN for hummingbird) drinking from the Fireweed and came together with the input of three perspectives. Eli’s hand draws the eye to the sharp angles and geometric patterns of the bird, and his art is infused with the same intention and perspective that informs his work in Experemony and developing the combination of a contemporary Indigenous perspective with a nod to tradition.
Kikila saw Eli’s drawing of SX̱EDJELI and immediately felt a connection to it. As a teacher, SX̱EDJELI has been important in showing Kikila humility, especially around this project, and they have been constant members of the opening circles on the land in W̱SÍ,ḴEM (there is often a hummingbird that watches us from a JSȺ¸IȽĆ (so called “douglas” fir), sometimes chatting with us, sometimes silently). SX̱EDJELI and their energetic ways of moving over their territories is a reminder that important work can be done by the smallest of beings (there is a Tsalagi teaching that Ganohalidoh Jeff Corntassel shares frequently about the importance of small creatures), and that each of us has a part to play in undoing the impacts of colonization, and supporting Indigenous resurgence and ecosystem wellbeing.
Sarah Jim, leader of the W̱SÍ,ḴEM Ivy Project and W̱SÍ,ḴEM member, suggested the Fireweed for the logo. Fireweed often grows after the damaging forest fires of the colonial world, as well as the clear cuts that are a standard feature of the forests of the colony of British Columbia. It is a brilliant, colourful example of resilience, and a messenger to all who witness it that even ecosystems impacted by uncontrolled fire are alive, working, and that the beings who call those places home are once again moving towards balance within creation. As a metaphor, Learning to Listen is a project that shares some of these elements, especially if you consider colonialism a form of clear-cut, a removal, a dangerous and mad over harvesting. Learning to Listen seeks to honour the lessons of the fireweed, that new growth can come after destruction, and what returns can be more in balance with creation.
For more of Eli’s art and to check out his podcast, METAWEWIN (a show about “sport as medicine and a tool of Resurgence”), please visit Experemony.com.
For more of Sarah’s art, please visit Sarah Jim Studio.