Mi’kmaw elder Francis Jadis new exhibit opening at UPEI Canadian Centre for Climate Change

CHARLOTTETOWN — A new exhibit, “Wisqoq, The Basket Tree”, has launched at the UPEI Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation (CCCCA) to highlight the bonds between families and communities through Mi’kmaq basketweaving.

Francis Jadis, Mi’kmaq elder and UPEI CCCCA artist-in-residence, has created a collection of baskets to display among family photos at the venue.

The exhibit showcases how families and communities are woven together by the tradition of skill-sharing and storytelling.

A member of a basket makers family from P.E.I.’s Abegweit First Nation, Jadis began learning basket weaving at six years old and has been harvesting wisqoq, also known as black ash,

which is traditionally used by Mi’kmaq for basketry and canoe construction.

While wisqoq was once plentiful on the banks of rivers and in wet forests across the Maritime provinces and throughout Turtle Island, the species is now in decline due to habitat loss, climate change and invasive species.

Alexis Bulman, the exhibit curator, said Jadis’ ability to harvest wisqoq has become increasingly complicated.

“The diminishing population of wisqoq and the interconnectedness it symbolizes for families and communities is a reminder that the responsibility to safeguard this knowledge is a collective endeavour,” she said. “Together, we must act as stewards of the environment.”

The CCCCA art gallery is now open with free admission to the public every Friday between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and until May 7.

Island schools can also book a field trip to visit the exhibit between April 22-26 by contacting Alexis Bulman at alexis@creativepei.ca.